The Seventh Face
by DarkRulerDominica
Summary: After slaying Orochimaru, Sasuke sets out with murder on his mind to at last get revenge against Itachi. However, Sasuke learns the truth as to why his brother killed their clan, and the cause is "something" they both share. (Semi-canonical/AR in that the reason behind the Uchiha clan extermination is different here.) ATTEMPTED RAPE WARNING FOR CHAPTER 7!
1. Prologue

The Seventh Face

Author: DarkRulerDominica

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All right everyone, I'm back with a freshly-baked fan fic, piping hot from the oven of my imagination. This time it's a Naruto story, called The Seventh Face.

This thing has taken me a few years to write, and I've been coming back to this on and off, throwing in a few ideas that happen later in Shippuden. MANY OF THE POINTS IN THIS STORY WERE EARLY SPECULATIONS ON MY PART FROM THE TIME IN 2007! MOST OF IT DOESN'T COINCIDE WITH THE CANON STORY, BUT AGAIN THESE WERE MY SPECULATIONS THAT I FORMED INTO AN AU WORLD FOR THIS FANFIC AT THAT TIME!

NOTE: ALSO, WHEN I STARTED WRITING THIS IT WAS AROUND THE TIME WHEN MOST FANS THOUGHT THE AKATSUKI LEADER WAS MINATO NAMIKAZE. WHILE WRITING, THERE WERE MORE SPECULATIONS THAT THE LEADER WAS TOBI/OBITO, SO AGAIN I CHANGED THAT. FINALLY, THERE WERE MORE RUMORS THAT MADARA WAS THE LEADER AND HAD SOMEHOW TAKEN CONTROL OF OBITO'S BODY (SOME FAN DRAWINGS SHOWED THAT MADARA RETAINED HIS PHYSICAL FEATURES EVEN AFTER DOING THAT); I DECIDED TO KEEP THAT VERSION IN THIS STORY.

The story (aside from the prologue and epilogue) is set in the Time Skip/Shippuden timeframe, approximately after the Sasori VS. Team Kakashi fight. Here in this story's timeline, Sakura kills Sasori, and Gaara is rescued, but Deidara doesn't lose his arm. Team Kakashi never goes to meet Kabuto, because Sasori never gave Sakura the information – everyone simply returns to Konoha to resume their lives (the Akatsuki VS. Team 10 fight has happened, though). Danzo, Yamato, and Sai don't show in this story. No Team Hebi, either.

I took great liberties playing around with the timeline, and tweaked with character personalities. I had speculations regarding why Itachi killed his clan, and I wrote my speculation in this story (of course, my theory was totally wrong it turns out T_T). I know my reason goes a different route from the reason stated in the canonical story, but again, THIS WAS MY CONJECTURE BACK FROM 2007 WHILE I WAS STILL READING THE DEIDARA VS. GAARA ARC.

**SPOILER WARNING!**

I altered some of the original chronology for this account. I also have Orochimaru as the main antagonist in this fan fic because he had seemingly posed the biggest threat in the storyline at that time.

In this story, Itachi joined ANBU in March, became ANBU captain in August and later slew his village in October, all in the same undetermined year. Following, he wandered for about a year then joined Akatsuki. Four years after that, Orochimaru entered the group (shortly before he infected Sasuke with the Cursed Mark).

What I'm saying is, if there's a character present that's not supposed to be there, I'm aware of it. I've been reading/watching Naruto for years and am up to date with the manga. ARTISTIC LIBERTIES!

**YAOI WARNING!**

There is a yaoi-ish part later in the tale that involves the Orochimaru and Itachi. However, I based it purely on his actual persona, so it's expected. Just wanted to give warning, though.

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I'm going to include a glossary at the beginning of each chapter because I use some Japanese words in this story.

Here's the glossary for this chapter:

"Kiseru": a long, slender metal pipe

"Obon": an annual festival in Japan in which people honor their dead loved ones, and supposedly, when the spirits of the deceased can return to Earth

"Konpeitou": brightly colored, star-shaped Japanese candies

Okay, here's my fourth fan fiction, The Seventh Face. Please read and review!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Summary**: _After slaying Orochimaru, Sasuke sets out with murder on his mind to pursue Itachi in revenge for killing their clan. However, Sasuke learns the horrible secret as to why his brother did it and realizes he may have more in common with Itachi than he initially thought. (Semi-canonical in that the events that led to the Uchiha clan extermination are different here.)_

Rated M for language, violence, and a moderate yaoi scenario (OrochimaruXItachi).

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"_Pauci dinoscere possunt vera bona atque illis multum diversa; nocitura toga, nocitura petuntur militia."_

_(Few people can distinguish between true good things and their opposite; in city or war camp, we seek what will be our ruin.)_

_-Juvenal, Satirae, X,3,8_

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_Prologue_

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"Another year's already passed? Where does the time go?" The old man puffed pensively on his kiseru, the spiced smoke wisping through his teeth. The annual Obon festival would start in the evening, and it baffled him that the interval since the previous and the immediate celebration had seemingly blended into an indecipherable moment in time. "I swear… these years get shorter and shorter."

He stood in a hilly meadow that overlooked Hi no Kuni's village of Konohagakure. The ninja city lay nestled at the foot of the Hokage face cliff, which displayed mammoth carvings in the likenesses of the land's Hokage past and present. He gazed at his stone counterpart and sighed regretfully. "Wish I was still that young." He was the current Hokage, the strongest ninja in the country. He had lived to a ripe age, owning to the fact that no wars had broken out in Hi no Kuni or elsewhere since his instatement. _"When I'm good and dead you can elect another Hokage – don't be doing it while I'm still kicking,"_ he would insist to the land's political lords whenever they expressed concern about his advancing age and the urgency to inaugurate his successor before he succumbed to death.

A flaxen-haired girl no older than eight ran up the grassy incline, her wooden geta slipping off her feet. "Grandfather! What are you doing up here? We have to get ready for Obon!"

He crouched down to meet her outstretched arms with a hug. "Yes, I know, Kiyomi. Your ojii-chan just came up here to get some fresh air," he chuckled. She flew into his arms, nearly knocking him over. "Ow, my back!" he winced as he embraced her.

The girl tugged on his hand. "C'mon, c'mon! I wanna show you my new yukata – it's pretty!"

"Calm down, Granddaughter," he urged kindly.

"Awww, but we're gonna be late!"

He patted her head. "We have plenty of time – the festivities won't start until sundown." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a package of brightly-hued konpeitou candies. "These are for you."

Her lipid-blue eyes sparkled and she took the treats. "Thank you!" She snipped the bag open with her teeth and poured a few of the star-shaped confections onto her palm before eating them.

He beamed. How she reminded him of himself at that age.

She held the bag out to him. "Want some?" she offered.

"Don't mind if I do." He plucked one from the package and placed it in his mouth. He turned his attention back to the stone cliff, reflecting on past times.

She noticed her grandfather's actions. "Grandpa," she asked, licking the sugar off her hand; she too stared at the figures. "Who's that man? He wasn't one of the Hokage… was he?"

He knelt beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Why don't you first tell me who you recognize in the faces?" he playfully quizzed her.

"I see… the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and you. But I don't know who he is," she said, pointing at the smaller likeness carved on a jutting outcrop a conspicuous distance away from the row of leaders.

He placed the pipe in his mouth. "To answer your question, no, he was not a Hokage. He was, however, a great hero of this land, and we have him to thank for ridding the countries of a great menace."

She tilted her head, sending her short pigtails spilling downward. "Huh?"

His eyes unfocused on the present and sharpened on the past. "There was once a terrible man named Orochimaru. He was originally part of a trio known as the Sannin -"

"My brother told me about the Sannin! He learned about them in history."

He ruffled her hair affably. "Yes, they were famous. But he was responsible for many bloody battles." He pointed at the third's gigantic head. "Orochimaru killed the third Hokage. I was a boy when it happened."

"He _killed_ him?"

"Indeed. That young man etched in stone defeated Orochimaru, and that's why he's a hero." He breathed out the spicy smoke. "His name was Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha lineage."

"Oh," she nodded, eating more of her candy in awe, unable to comprehend the significance of the surname 'Uchiha'.

He smiled at her. "Would you like to hear a story, Ki-chan?"

A thrilled grin stretched her lips. "Yes! I love your stories!"

"All right, then," he said, sitting down on the grass. She lay on her stomach and propped her chin in her hands.

"Now, although Sasuke was remarkable, he was very sad."

"Why?"

He sighed and held his pipe in his grasp. "When he was about your age, his brother did something terrible, something that made Sasuke hate him." He tipped out the ash in his pipe. "His brother killed their family."

Her eyes rounded with alarm. "Why?"

"Calm down, I'll get to that," he explained. "You see, his brother was powerful, and although Sasuke tried defeating him in revenge, he couldn't match his strength. Sasuke left Konoha to train with Orochimaru to get stronger."

"But wasn't Orochimaru bad?"

"Patience, child… patience." Drawing on the kiseru deeply, he exhaled the smoke, which coiled like a pale serpent twisting its way up to the heavens. "Sasuke eventually stopped the Sannin's reign… and that is where my tale begins…."

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NOTE: I realize Sarutobi technically died when he performed the Death Reaper Seal, but Orochimaru impaled his with Kusanagi before that. Impaling someone purposely sort of constitutes as killing.

Okay, the remaining tale will take place in the Time Skip/Shippuden era. You'll have to wait until the epilogue for Ojii-chan and Kiyomi's return.


	2. Hearsay and Verification

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Here's a glossary for the Japanese words used in this chapter:

"Chokuto": Japanese straight sword.

"Ryokan": traditional Japanese inn

"Daimyo": regional lord

"Izakaya": a traditional Japanese drinking establishments that also serves food

"Sakazuki": small cup for sake

"Washi": an opaque, fibrous paper used in shouji door screens

"Dogeza": bowing deeply while kneeling on the ground. Used to show extreme humility

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_Hearsay and Verification_

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All was still; not even Sasuke's breath moved the air.

He yanked the chokuto free from Orochimaru's chest, the blade coated with hot blood. Looking at the prone figure at his feet, he swayed as exhaustion swept over him and collapsed to his knees, laughing, crying, he wasn't sure which. He peered through his coal-black bangs at the Sannin's mask of an expression: the half-shut eyelids and the horrible tongue spilling from the mouth onto the floor. He then turned his attention to Yakushi Kabuto on the opposite side of the bedchamber, whose bespectacled eyes widened with fearful bewilderment. Sasuke's lips stretched into a vapid grin, and he pointed the sword at the medical ninja. "Know this: I have slain the great Orochimaru. I want you to tell everyone about my deed."

Kabuto remained rooted, his raspy breathing fogging his glasses.

"Go!" Sasuke screamed.

He scrambled back and bolted away, his tray of medicines crashing to the ground. When the footfalls' echoes were swallowed by the oppressive silence, Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed heavily. He'd killed Orochimaru… killed the man who had bestowed upon him inconceivable power. The serpentine-like Sannin had infected Sasuke with an enzyme three years prior that infused him with the Ten no Juin Cursed Seal of Heaven, and shortly thereafter Sasuke resided with him for training purposes. But when Orochimaru demanded Sasuke's body as a new container for his soul - his tangible reason for marking him initially – the presumed vessel's tolerance was no more. The Sannin excelled in combat, but with unwisely priming the boy in master-level fighting and jutsu skills over the years, Sasuke easily turned the tables and destroyed him.

Lifting himself on trembling legs, he turned to leave. But to where? He hadn't a place he could call a true home since he was seven because his brother had slaughtered their entire village at the time. He had been allowed to remain in his family's house instead of getting sent to foster care, and finally got suitable shelter at the Ninja Academy dormitories when he became a genin. After that, his abode had been Orochimaru's living quarters during his two and a half years receiving tutelage under the legendary shinobi.

He wiped the splattered blood off his face. He couldn't just wander – he needed somewhere from which to reconnoiter and plan his next move. His instinctive choice was to stay in Orochimaru's hideout, but now that Kabuto had escaped, the news of his victory would spread, and possibly attract vengeful minions of the Sannin. He then considered his village of birth, Konohagakure. He had rescinded from it years before, and he knew he was now labeled a missing nin. Perhaps he could reason for leniency, claim Orochimaru had placed him under a genjutsu that forced him to turn his back on the village. If that failed, he wouldn't hold back exterminating all who stood in his way. What was a village's police force compared to that of Orochimaru's tutoring? If all went smoothly, he could breeze in and out of the village without notice. His stopover would be fleeting; just long enough until he could begin his true task:

To avenge his clan by killing his brother.

Sheathing the sword he had dubbed Kusanagi, he walked to the chamber exit, abandoning the corpse of his instructor of two and a half years.

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Deidara sipped the chilled saké, enjoying the glow that bloomed over his face and body. He had consummated his task of assassinating Nami no Kuni's daimyo that afternoon, and now he enjoyed his well-deserved respite. He wondered if he should treat himself to a night at a ryokan and simply tell the Akatsuki leader, Uchiha Madara, that he had tracked down the man at the inn and rented a room for one night to effectuate the murder at close proximity. He smiled at the idea – he might as well take advantage of Akatsuki's funds while part of the organization, even if it did encompass telling little white lies every now and then.

He unsnapped the top button of his robe. "Damn, it's hot in here," he griped under his breath, glancing about the dimly lit izakaya. The Akatsuki members rarely showed their faces in public, but sweltering discomfort was too high a price to pay for anonymity; summer had just entered the rainy season, and the unforgiving humidity saturated the June air like a steaming towel. He removed his conical straw hat and fanned himself with it, relishing the coolness of the evaporating sweat on his forehead. He ordered another saké and finished it quickly, hardly taking note of the silver-haired man who'd just entered the room and joined another at a table.

"Are you okay, Kabuto?" asked the sitting man. He slid a drink Kabuto's way.

"Not exactly. It's been terrible." He took a long swig of the alcohol.

"What happened?"

Deidara admired the artistry of the sakazuki cup. Maybe he would order an enormous platter of sukiyaki at the inn. It'd be a bit harder to justify such an expensive dish to Madara, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He could practically taste the butter-seared beef.

"I told you: Uchiha Sasuke killed Orochimaru-sama."

Deidara almost dropped the cup. "What the…" he breathed, piqued by the tête-à-tête. His eyes darted over his shoulder to spy the stranger. The one named Kabuto… yes, Deidara recognized him as Orochimaru's accomplice. Didn't Sasori-danna once say he had employed Kabuto to spy on the Sannin following his withdrawal from Akatsuki? Such a small world. Deidara wasn't familiar with the other man whose hair hung in his shadowy face. Both men donned forehead protectors of Otogakure.

"And it happened two days ago?"

Kabuto downed his drink and nodded.

The other chuckled uneasily. "Good thing I wasn't there that day, huh?"

He tightened his jaw. "I didn't think Sasuke would spare me, what with the bad blood between us." He removed his glasses and wiped the lenses on his shirt. "I never dreamt I'd be indebted to that brat."

Deidara strained his ears over the din of the room. Was this drunkard serious? He propped his hat upon his head and did his best to blend in with the background of people as he continued eavesdropping, suddenly forgetting about the prospective sukiyaki and ryokan.

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Daylight broke over the summer landscape like paint splashed on a canvas. The bloody glow of sunrise made the land appear ablaze; the hanging mist was the smoke, and birdsong filled the air in lieu of crackling embers.

The vermillion brilliance shone into Uchiha Itachi's room, bathing his face in illumination. He squeezed his still-closed eyes, cursing the sun for disrupting the sleep he had acquired no more than an hour earlier. He turned over in his futon, hoping he'd be lulled back to slumber.

But sleep never came. He rolled to his back and sighed heavily. He'd been an insomniac for most of his life, imparting him with ever-present rings under his eyes. Over the years he found that hot tea alleviated his restlessness, and more than anything now he wanted to sleep. He threw back the cover and stood, retying his sleeping yukata after he had done so. Walking barefoot across the tatami floors, he slid open the door and ventured towards the hallway beyond.

All was quiet in the dim corridors of the Akatsuki hideout, yet the early hour was only partially the explanation for the solitude. Itachi's room was far removed from the other sleeping quarters, not because he shared the same blood with the leader and was privileged with his own private wing, but because he suffered recurring night terrors. The purpose of his isolation was not so much to ensure him peaceful rest, but to spare the other members his harrowing shrieks during the night.

He entered the kitchen and glowered when he saw the sun's obnoxious rays penetrating the room. He grabbed a cup and boiled some water, but was interrupted when Deidara entered.

"Oh, Itachi! There you are!" he exclaimed.

"I'm just taking some tea back to my room," he volunteered to let Deidara know he wasn't in the mood for talking.

Deidara frowned solicitously. "Couldn't sleep again?"

"No." Everyone in the organization was aware of his chronic insomnia.

"That's tough. I slept all night and I'm still tired. Could be a bit of a hangover, though." He leaned against a shelf and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "So… have you heard?"

Itachi removed the boiling water from the stove and filled the cup. "What?"

"Yesterday, after I did in Lord Moya I went to an izakaya and heard something quite interesting –"

"I'm not in the mood to hear about your drinking escapades," he cut across. Snatching his cup, he grumbled, "I'm going."

"Your brother killed Orochimaru."

He peered at the other, his eyes huge. "What?" Drowsiness no longer clouded his mind.

He laughed and pushed his blonde hair from his eyes. "That was my reaction!" He filled a glass with water and drank. "That guy Kabuto was talking to some Otonin last night about it."

His head spun in glazed delirium. Had Orochimaru really been murdered? And by Sasuke, no less? "That's… impossible. Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, and Sasuke's under his influence."

Deidara lowered the glass from his lips. "'Under his influence'?"

"Nevermind," he muttered, seeing it best not to enlighten Deidara about how his brother had been persuaded by Orochimaru's words years back.

"Doesn't sound like nothing to me," he frowned. He put down the glass. "Oh, Madara wants to see you. You weren't in your room, so I figured you were here."

"Wait, when did he say this?"

"About ten minutes ago. He found me in the hall and told me to fetch you. I guess he didn't want to walk all the way to your room." He shrugged. "You know how he likes starting early on his ikebana."

Itachi sensed a foreboding. Why would the Akatsuki leader want to talk with him so early in the morning? He glanced down at his unkempt yukata. "I'll get dressed."

"Better not - he says it's urgent."

He furrowed his brow with worry and tried to evoke memory of any possible infraction he'd committed to spur his nonagenarian relative to demand his presence. Madara never requested a private audience with anyone unless it was crucial; the only other time he'd spoken to Itachi alone was after the younger had driven Orochimaru to leave the organization, and the subsequent outcome had been painful. He left his cup and they set off through the twisting corridors. The scent of fresh flower arrangements lining the hall couldn't mask the foreshadowing of potentially what was to come. _He's going to assign a new mission_. Yet, as he hypothesized the idea, he saw the implausibility. No, both he and his partner Hoshigaki Kisame would receive the specifications of the task.

His mind drifted to another possible answer. The leader wanting to talk to him, requesting a private audience…. His breathing sharpened and he tried emptying his mind of that possibility he'd been trying to forget for years.

Deidara glanced over his shoulder and started when he discovered Itachi ghostly white. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Itachi clenched his stomach, trying to ward off the flashes of memories leaking into his conscious. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Deidara wasn't convinced. Although he had only heard about it from whispers spoken around the compound, he knew Itachi still carried around residual fear from that incident involving the Sannin from roughly three years back. Deidara opened his mouth, hoping the words that flowed through would console. "He's dead now. You should be happy."

He nodded feebly, yet couldn't find any real worth in the observation. He tried forcing away the raw memory of three years prior, as well as the darkest ones from eight years before. "He would always talk about things rotting and disappearing to make room for newer ones. I wish human memories worked like that."

They wandered amid an uncomfortable silence in the mahogany wood hall before finding themselves in front of an intricate shouji; the translucent washi paper permitted them view of movement on the other side. "Well, I wish you luck," and Deidara prudently slid open the entrance. "Excuse me, Madara-sama? Itachi's here."

Madara glanced over his shoulder. "Ah, wonderful! You may enter."

Itachi stepped into a spacious room bright with the sunrise and perfumed with the aroma of peonies. In the middle, near a sweeping ikebana display, was his great-grandfather Madara, lovingly pruning individual flowers and adding them to the arrangement. He smiled at Itachi, his 95 year-old face not showing a day over 25. "Sit down," he offered, motioning to a low wooden table beset with a teacup and teapot. Next to the dishes was a plate of mitarashi dango.

Deidara bowed and exited, quietly sliding the door shut behind him; Itachi knew better than to assume Deidara wouldn't eavesdrop.

Itachi knelt on a floor cushion at the table. He waited as Madara unhurriedly placed the flowers; his eyes suddenly spied the cup of tea.

"That tea's for you," Madara said. "It's a special blend for insomnia I had imported from the Huangshan tea region in the west. My apologies for bringing you in here so early, but this meeting pertains to you, and is quite urgent. You can rest afterwards."

Itachi's eyes dropped to the cup. Something in his silky tone unsettled him.

The leader frowned reproachfully when he didn't accept the drink. "It's not poisoned," he said, his voice suddenly austere.

Itachi fumbled to retrieve it; he feared the man before him, whose feral-keened elegance had once made him the unprecedented leader of the Uchiha clan over 70 years prior. His sharp eyes, his mane of wild black locks, the wiry features… he was the embodiment of frightful power from a bygone shinobi era that had long had its untamed edge dulled by civility. The last thing Itachi wanted to do was insult or provoke him. He placed the cup to his lips and sipped the contents. It was a pungent, florally concoction.

The older Uchiha watched as he did this, and his eyes then roved over his appearance. "You certainly are a fright this morning. You could've at least brushed your hair before seeing me."

His shoulders narrowed with embarrassment. He glimpsed his own rumpled kimono that was glaring in comparison to the leader's unwrinkled, smoky-grey one. He modestly smoothed down his hair. "My apologies, Madara-sama – I didn't have time to make myself presentable," and he bowed low in dogeza.

"Make certain you look better next time," he smiled falsely, his onyx hair framing his thin face. "Slovenliness and disrespect are bedmates."

"I understand," he answered, his nose still at the floor.

The leader fiddled with his current arrangement of pale purple chrysanthemums. "Knowing Deidara's penchant for gossiping I assume he told you the news?" He cast his eyes slyly upon the shouji.

"Yes, I've heard."

He set his scissors down on the arrangement table and sat opposite Itachi. "And what am I referencing?"

"Orochimaru's death."

"Orochimaru-_sama_," he corrected, pointing his finger reprovingly. "Remember, he was a venerated Sannin, not a spoiled brat who came from our privileged family, like you."

Itachi held his tongue.

"Notwithstanding, through reliable sources I have confirmed that Orochimaru is indeed deceased. Murdered, in fact," he explained as he poured himself a cup of steaming tea from a separate pot. "And rumor has it Sasuke is the culprit."

Itachi said nothing.

Madara took a drink and succinctly placed down the cup. "We're family. We don't need formalities here so I'll make this concise." He folded his arms and leaned forward grimly. "Did you instruct Sasuke to kill him?"

"No," he replied, slightly taken aback. "I haven't spoken to him in years."

"Did you, with or without using a genjutsu, have somebody tell him to do it?"

He felt his blood pressure surge, and acridly answered, "No."

"No need to get so defensive. I just want to rule out your involvement. We Uchiha are notorious for holding grudges, and I know you were scorned after yours and Orochimaru's tryst -"

"We were not lovers, Madara! As far as I'm concerned this is long-overdue comeuppance for him!"

Madara flew up and backhanded Itachi across the face. "How dare you talk back to me, you impudent child! His mastery of jutsu was invaluable to this organization! This is a crippling loss for us!"

He wiped his bloody mouth, undeterred. "He abandoned Akatsuki years ago. Why are you so loyal to him?"

He quivered and struck him again, knocking him over to the floor. "If it hadn't been for you he'd still be in the group. I wanted him to come back, but that little horror you call a brother spoiled it!"

"He wouldn't have returned even if you begged, Madara, and you know it."

He grabbed Itachi's yukata front and jerked him to his face, his smoldering eyes blazing. "You are not in the position or rank to question me, boy! And you are _never_ to refer me to in such a familiar form – always address me as Madara-sama!"

Itachi glared at him, contesting him.

The leader reciprocated the glower, waiting for the other to do something reckless. When nothing came to pass, he released his grip and returned to his floral arrangement. "It's that Uchiha insolence that makes me suspect you had something to do with his murder, Itachi. I'm not simply distrusting you without due cause." He commenced with snipping off a chrysanthemum stem's leaves. "If you felt resentment towards him, I'd understand. I was the same when that bastard Hashirama deceived me. But if you acted upon those feelings, that's where I draw the line."

Itachi watched the leaves flutter to the tatami floor. "And as I said, I had nothing to do with it… Madara-_sama_." He dipped his head melodramatically.

He perceived the sarcasm clear as day. "Don't push your luck," he said coolly. "I battled Hashirama one-on-one – I can wipe you out in the blink of an eye."

_And you lost that battle – that's why the Uchiha became the scourge of Konoha_, Itachi mused privately. He bowed once again. "I understand. Please accept my apologies for my impertinence."

A smile tugged at his lips and he grabbed a peony. "Your flattery is second to none, Itachi. However," he pointed the scissors at him for emphasis, "if I _ever_ learn that you're lying to me concerning Orochimaru, the punishment will be dire," and he fiercely cut off the flower's head.

"I understand."

He chewed his cheek, unconvinced with his newfound graciousness. "Oh, I haven't asked lately: how are your eyes?"

"About the same, maybe a bit worse."

"Keep eating the dango. It helped me for a while." He added the stem as filler to the display before again making eye contact with Itachi, his scarlet Mangekyou intent. "Remember, if worse comes to worse, you can always do what _I_ did."

He lowered his gaze. "I won't resort to that."

"Ah, but that's the fee for being born into our accursed bloodline, Itachi. The faster you accept it, the easier your life will be." He placed the completed ikebana display on the low table. "I too tried convincing myself there were alternatives, but in the end there was just one solution. Sasuke must accept his lot in life as a younger Uchiha."

"I disagree."

"Of course. Because you know so much better than I." He waved his hand dismissively. "You may leave."

He bowed in acknowledgment and turned to exit.

"Itachi!" Madara called out.

"Yes?" he asked, the caution in his tone hardly concealed.

He pointed at the table. "Take your dango and tea."

"Right." He scooped up the cup and sticks and left the room.

As he'd suspected, Deidara had opted to hang around in the hallway; his cheeks were flushed. "Can you believe the nerve he has?! Who does that pompous ass think he is anyway? I don't gossip!" he hissed.

"It's wise to refrain from insulting the leader in earshot," he warned as they travelled from Madara's room.

He scowled and looked back over his shoulder at the washi paper door. "I don't care if you guys are related. You've got the patience of a saint to put up with him." He shook his head in disgust. "'A tryst'… if it'd happened to him he wouldn't be mocking it. Hey, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Yet Itachi paid him no heed. One thought pressed on his mind: Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. He couldn't help but feel a rush of relief hearing the rumor confirmed by Madara. Itachi hadn't been entirely truthful when he claimed he had nothing to do with the Sannin's death: Sasuke had trained with and killed him to increase his own strength… to finally murder Itachi in retaliation for wiping out the majority of the Uchiha clan. "So… he's finally ready to confront me."

Deidara blinked. "Huh?"

Itachi thrust the cup and dango into the other's hands. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. A thrill charged through his body like voltage with the fresh prospect. He jogged down the hall back to his room, leaving Deidara in the corridor.

"Wait a second – what's going on?" the blonde called out, nonplussed.

.

* * *

.

Yes, I know Orochimaru was a large, white serpent when Sasuke killed him; I just wanted him to be in human form here.

As mentioned at the beginning notes, I wrote this saying that Madara was the Akatsuki leader. Since Madara was all about the Uchiha clan rising against Konoha, and then Uchiha Fugaku did the same thing and tried pushing Itachi to follow in his footsteps, I entertained the idea that that specific group of Uchiha family members were directly related (Madara was the great-grandfather, insert unknown Uchiha next for grandfather, Fugaku is father, and Itachi and Sasuke are the sons). And as I had mentioned in the notes at the beginning, I started writing this way back when many fans didn't know the true identity of the Akatsuki leader, and they were saying it was either Minato or Obito; people started talking about Madara running it, but Tobi didn't look like Madara, so I somehow thought Madara had somehow taken over Obito's body. I now know about Obito simply giving himself Madara's identity; still, the idea of Madara being the true leader is sexy.

Huangshan is an area in China renowned for growing tea. Naruto takes place in the "Ninja World", but it's safe to assume that it's supposed to be Japan.

June in Japan is horrible weather-wise. Not only is summer searing with unbearable humidity, but it's also the rainy season. I used to love rain before I went to Japan – I now hate it because I experienced the rainy season. Imagine a storm everyday, and your clothes never dry (they don't use dryers in Japan, so you have to let them air-dry – but how can clothes air-dry when the humidity is 95%?). And mold grows EVERYWHERE!


	3. Return and Regrets

.

"Shochu": Japanese distilled liquor made from sweet potatoes

.

* * *

_Return and Regrets_

* * *

_._

Itachi finished tying back his hair in a ponytail that fell between his shoulder blades. His appearance was impeccable, from the curtain of muslin ribbons hanging off his conical hat to the purple lacquer coating his fingernails and toenails. He then slipped on the hallmark signature garment of Akatsuki: the black robe embroidered with scarlet clouds of dawn. He stood before the mirror in his room and examined his reflection, fastidiously removing any specks of lint from his robe.

After all, the event at hand was a special occasion, and he wanted to look his best.

A stab grazed his eyes like a hot blade, and he grabbed the mirror's frame for support. Not for the first time, Madara's vile suggestion crossed his thoughts. "He's mad. I'm not repeating history," he murmured forebodingly to his blurring reflection while the dolor ebbed.

He left the room, checking the contents of his well-stocked ninja tool pouch, when Kisame passed by. "Well, you certainly are dressed up, Itachi," he grinned when he saw him. "Did Madara give you a solo mission?"

Itachi kept his face down. "I'm… just going out for a bit."

"In full uniform?" Kisame joked, when his razor-toothed smiled faded. "What's wrong? You're acting odd."

"Really?" he mumbled, rummaging through his weapons.

"Don't play stupid - I've known you for seven years." He watched him worriedly. "Have your eyes been giving you problems?"

He hesitated for a flash of a millisecond before lying, "No." He snapped the bag shut and fastened it on his waist under the robe. Other than Madara, Kisame was the only member in Akatsuki who was privy to Itachi's failing eyesight, and in the last few months Itachi had confided in him that his eyes had worsened. "I'm fine, Kisame."

He placed his hand on his hip. "You're a bad liar, Itachi."

"I said I'm fine."

Kisame wasn't convinced, but he knew he couldn't coerce Itachi to disclose what he didn't wish. "Well… don't push yourself. I'll see you when you get back," and he started heading off in the direction he had been going initially.

"Kisame!"

He paused and peered over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

Itachi walked up to him hesitantly. "I want you to know… you've been a good partner and friend." He smiled. "Thank you."

He blanched. "Wait a second… don't talk that way, kid. It sounds like you're going to do something stupid."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know how an Uchiha mind works all the time - and frankly, I don't want to know - but it sounds like you're gonna do yourself in. I can't be getting those Jinchuuriki by myself," he followed up with a strained laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous – I would never kill myself."

"Well it's... I know your sight hasn't been all that good lately, and… Deidara told me what Madara said about you and Orochimaru."

Itachi cursed Deidara in his mind for divulging such confidentialities. "How would any of that prompt me to take such an irreversible action, Kisame?"

Kisame's eyes dropped under the pressure of the keen Uchiha gaze. "I don't know. It just crossed my mind."

"You have an overactive imagination then," he affirmed quietly.

The swordsman was still troubled. "Itachi," he said firmly, "where are you going? And why are you dressed in full uniform?"

He closed his eyes. "I need to do something. I'm sorry, that's all I can say."

"Tell me what's going on!" he roared.

His lips parted, yet no answer followed immediately. Then, "I'm listening to my intuition. I have to obey it."

The swordsman could not quash his annoyance as a result of this vagueness. "Don't keep me in the dark! I'm here for you as a friend, not just an Akatsuki partner." He trawled his hand down his cyan face in annoyance. "You can open up to me more and not be so latent - I'm not your enemy."

"I'm not saying you are," he retorted. "It has nothing to do with whether I trust you or not. And I apologize if I come off as detached…". The weight of indignity seemed to press down on him and his head sunk slightly. "That's who I am."

Kisame wanted to demand a straightforward answer, but he respected Itachi's need for secrecy like he always had. "Fine. Just… just don't try anything bizarre, all right?" He lowered his voice to a pleading whisper. "And… don't use it."

Itachi began turning away. "I don't know what you're talking about -"

He grabbed Itachi's robe collar firmly. "Do I have to spell it out?! The Mangekyou Sharingan! It's dangerous!"

The Uchiha lowered his gaze heavily. "It's my burden to bear."

"That was a long time ago," he growled. He tightened his grip on the collar. "You have to forget the past."

Itachi firmly pushed away Kisame's hand. "If I could I wouldn't be in this organization."

"I'm asking as a friend – don't use it."

Either he didn't hear the request or he didn't want to acknowledge, because instead of promising, Itachi did something that he hadn't done since following the incident with Orochimaru nearly three years before: he wrapped his arms around Kisame's large torso in a hug. "Thank you for being so supportive, Kisame. You've been the only one who understands me these years."

He knew something was horribly awry, yet hugged his friend back without question. "You're welcome, kid."

Itachi released the embrace and quickly set off down the corridor. However, in the split-second before Itachi had turned away, Kisame spotted the tears rimming his eyes. "You hasty idiot," Kisame said, but only the lonely hall heard him.

.

* * *

.

Rain blurred the outlines of the trees as dusk fell like a heavy velvet curtain. Sasuke trudged over the saturated ground, hoping he'd come across shelter soon. He had been journeying for three days in his attempt to return to Konoha, and he knew he was in the immediate area.

Thunder rumbled overhead and a renewed deluge fell to the ground like arrows. He pulled his shirt closed, grousing that he would most likely develop a cold owning to the inhospitable conditions. He peered into the sky for any birds that would indicate the impending end of the storm; he didn't see any. He sighed to the heavens, seeing his chances of finding a sleeping area other than a bush or tree ebbing. He couldn't even make a fire with his katon jutsu because the timber would be soaked.

The wind whipped away the distorting sheets of water and he at last saw Konoha's massive perimeter fence approximately one hundred meters ahead. "Never thought I'd see you again," he said as he looked at the protective structure. He plodded over the sloppy earth towards the main gate, his toes numb from the cold. He kept in mind that his defection from Konoha and training with the Sannin had landed him in the Bingo Book among other feared shinobi, and he was ready to fight if need be.

When he reached the entrance, one of the watchmen atop their posts at the highest reaches of the fence spotted him. "Identify yourself!" one shouted down.

He readied his hand on the chokuto's hilt. "Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Don't make any sudden moves."

Four ANBU Black Ops officers had appeared behind him, one pressing a kunai blade against his neck. "You've been charged with the crimes of defection and treason."

He found the whole situation meddling. He didn't feel like spilling anyone's blood unnecessarily, but these men tried his patience. "I don't want any trouble," he warned. "I need to speak with Tsunade."

The ANBU applied pressure to the blade. "Don't refer to her so informally," he growled. "You're an S-rank criminal in our books – you've got some gall to be making requests." He confiscated Sasuke's sword.

The huge wooded doors groaned open enough to permit a gate watchman to squeeze through from the other side. His footfalls slapped through swelling puddles as he jogged up to Sasuke.

Sasuke recognized him in a blink. "Shiranui Genma," he nodded, paying no heed to his captors. "It's been a long time."

Genma wiped the water from his face as he stared in awe, the toothpick nearly falling from his mouth. "Uchiha Sasuke…" he breathed. He then beamed. "It _has_ been a long time. What brings you back?"

"I need to speak with Tsunade," he repeated.

He shrugged. "That shouldn't be too hard to arrange. According to your capture notes in the Bingo Book it says we should take you to her first." He pulled out his sodden copy and flipped to the page. "Yeah, right here: 'If prisoner is composed, bring him before the Hokage.' Looks like you get your wish."

"Don't encourage him, Genma," one of the officers reproved.

"Hey, I don't write the rules, okay?"

Not breaking formation, the ANBU led Sasuke forward through the gate. "I never expected to see you again," Genma chatted alongside Sasuke.

"I never thought I'd return," he confided as they passed through the parted doors. He steered the topic away from himself to keep an amiable air in the ANBU presence; the last thing he needed before asking Tsunade for leniency was blood on his hands lest the provoked fools attack him. "How were the Chuunin Exams last year?"

His mood dampened. "Without a coup, thankfully. Speaking of, it wasn't long after that that you left. Why have you been gone for so long?"

He kept his face ahead, not bothering to give Genma eye contact. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Yeah, that's probably best." He pulled his vest collar around his neck and they made their way to the Hokage Residence building that housed Tsunade's office.

Sasuke examined all the familiar sights. Everything was identical to when he left two and a half years before, as though it had been suspended in time awaiting his return: the storefronts, cracks in doors, even potted plants, were all unbothered. "This place never changes, does it?"

"Nope," Genma answered through the deafening thunder. "That's Konoha for you – it never fails consistency. But I like consistency, so I'm content."

He was unaware that they were passing in front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop. "There needs to be change for things to advance. Stagnancy stifles progression, otherwise." He suddenly gritted his jaw when he reflected that that sounded like the speech Itachi told their father and uncles years back.

.

* * *

.

"And so I said to him, 'Hey, old man, I'd need _twelve_ shuriken to do that!'" Uzumaki Naruto crowed, a ramen noodle dangling off his chin.

Jiraiya roared with laughter and slapped his thigh. "Oh, Naruto, you tell the wildest stories!"

"But it's true, Pervy Sage," he said as he shoveled a mouthful of noodles into his mouth.

"Sure, sure, and I'm Hokage," he simpered, taking a small, round bell from his pocket and flicking it over the counter where they ate at the Ichiraku Ramen shop. "Miss! Oh Miss!" he called to Ayame, the server.

"Yes sir?"

"I'd like another shochu, please. Oh, and hun, I seemed to have dropped my bell behind the counter. Would you mind terribly looking for it? It's a family heirloom, you know."

"Not at all!" she smiled. She bent over in search of the bell, exactly what Jiraiya had planned.

_Oh, yeah,_ he mouthed, taking in the lovely vision of her raised backside, practically drooling.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless, you dirty old man." At once, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Jumping off his stool, he rushed to the entrance and pushed aside the noren to view the drizzly street.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, pocketing his recovered bell.

He remained quiet, his attention rapt, yet he hadn't a notion why. "I thought… I thought I heard somebody."

The sage gulped his drink. "Well, of course you heard somebody – it's a village!" He ordered another round of alcohol, his cheeks already rosy.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled as he returned to his seat, though he felt something strange in the air, and it wasn't the humidity.

.

* * *

.

"What's the word from Nami no Kuni? Have they gotten any information yet?" Tsunade demanded, peering out into the rain-blackened night through her office window.

Nara Shikamaru leafed through the three piles of paper on the coffee table before him. "No, we're still awaiting correspondence. Seems their priority is sorting out Lord Moya's assassination."

"Fine time for him to get himself killed," she sighed, compressing her throbbing temples.

He took a drag on his cigarette. "Look, chances are Orochimaru _is_ dead, Tsunade. A rumor that extreme doesn't come out of the blue." He settled himself back into the couch. "Why bother Nami no Kuni when we all know the truth? Let 'em mourn Lord Moya."

She turned and scowled at him. "This is protocol, Shikamaru. We have to confirm Orochimaru is dead. No information is coming out of Otogakure, so we have to ask neighboring countries."

He exhaled a plume of white smoke. "This is so troublesome."

"Hey, you're getting paid overtime, so don't gripe," she said as she sat at her desk piled with unattended paperwork.

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, the cigarette resting on his lip. "Now I know why Shizune called in sick."

There came a knock at the door.

"Enter!" Tsunade shouted, beginning to sign documents with annoyance.

Genma poked his soaked head into the room. "Pardon the intrusion, Lord Hokage, but you have a visitor."

"Can't you see I'm busy, Genma?" she snapped, exasperated. "Tell whoever it is I don't have time to visit. And you're dripping water all over my floor!"

He stepped farther into the room. "Oh, but he's not just anyone," and he swung open the door to reveal Sasuke standing behind him, along with the four ANBU.

Tsunade's chocolate-hued eyes bulged when she recognized the Uchiha. She rushed from her chair to where he stood, peering at him as though he were an apparition.

Shikamaru's cigarette dangled from his mouth. "Well well, look what the cat dragged in."

She addressed the ANBU and Gemna sternly. "You're all excused."

The bowed their heads and flickered away into thin air.

She reached out her hand diffidently to touch his arm to see if he was real or not. Her fingertips felt the solid warmth of his flesh, and she peered at his face with frightened eyes. She couldn't seem to form the words lodged in her throat. She took his face in her hands. "Is it really you, Sasuke?"

He flinched at her touch and twisted his head back. "Yes."

She folded her hands before her authoritatively. "You've been classified an S-rank criminal. What were you doing that whole time?"

His eyes were expressionless. "Training."

"With _him_?"

Sasuke saw Shikamaru listening in; he nodded.

"And why have you returned?"

"I need to stay in Konoha for a few days."

She looked puzzled. "Why?"

"I'd rather not say. I just need a room in the Academy dormitory."

Her ruby lips turned downward in a frown. "I'm sorry, but the dorms are all occupied by genin." She fished for an alternative for a few moments before innocuously suggesting, "Weren't you living in your family's house before? Why not th-"

"No!" he blurted harshly. "I… I don't want to stay there."

Too late, she realized she had trespassed into an off-limits subject. In an act of contrition, she said, "Tell you what: there are a few visitor rooms in this building; I'll let you stay in one of those, all right?"

He nodded. "I appreciate it."

She walked to the exit. "I'll find someone to ready a room," and she exited.

Certain Tsunade had left, Shikamaru's eyes shifted to Sasuke. "'Training'… that's putting it lightly," he guffawed as he wrote something on a page.

"What's so funny? Of course I was training!" he bristled defensively, still shaken from the discussion of his late family's abode.

"Don't give me that spiel," he drawled, rising from the couch. "Yeah, you were training, but it wasn't with any old teacher." He came right to Sasuke's face. "You were Orochimaru's disciple."

He kept a cool façade.

"At first everyone thought those four Otonin goons kidnapped you, but Naruto told Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Sakura about your conversation at the Valley of the End that you left to go to Orochimaru of your own will."

Sasuke stiffened when he heard the first name mentioned but remained unspoken.

Shikamaru inhaled on his cigarette. "You're not denying it," he said in singsong. "That screams accountability."

Sasuke clenched his jaw. "How long has Tsunade known?"

"Since the beginning." He snuffed out his cigarette in an ashtray. "You wouldn't believe how many strategies she proposed to retrieve you. The daimyo threw out most of her plans in claims they were expensive and for a lost cause." He eyed him gravely. "The initial orders in the Bingo Book were 'kill on sight'."

He grunted. "They were that threatened?"

"Well sure. You left to stay with an S-class criminal _and_ attacked your comrades to do so. Defection and treason. Tsunade used all her political pull to mitigate your punishment." He pointed a finger at him. "If your original status was still standing you would've been executed before you took a step into the village."

"I guess luck's on my side then."

"She definitely has a soft spot for you in her heart. Don't know why, though." He stacked the papers into a neat pile. "Of course, you have Naruto to thank, too. He kept hounding her about sparing you."

His eyebrow arched. "Did he now?"

Shikamaru leaned back against a bookshelf and folded his arms. "Tell me: did you really kill Orochimaru?"

His eyes dulled with callousness when he heard the question, and he'd only opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly the door swung open, revealing Naruto and Sakura. "I _knew_ I heard you from inside the ramen shop," he gasped, catching his breath.

Sasuke's stony expression didn't falter the slightest when he saw his ex-teammates.

Nobody spoke; the tension was so uncomfortable it was nearly tangible. Team 7 was at last reunited. However, there were so many poignant scars that they might as well have been on opposite sides of the earth. Naruto could do nothing short of standing with his mouth slightly agape as a horde of emotions clashed frenetically in his brain. Before him stood his rationale as to why he had left Konoha and studied under Jiraiya for two years; he had left behind his friends and home for the sake of this young man. "Is that you?" he heard himself whisper, sensing everything around him slowing in a surreal fog. Sasuke's charcoal-tinged eyes fell on Naruto's in silent response; the gaze was as keen as a frozen needle striking Naruto's heart, so familiar yet foreign. He felt Orochimaru's poisonous touch tainting Sasuke's aura.

Tears rolled down Sakura's face. She threw her arms around him. "You're back," she whispered. "You're really back."

He remained stationary like a statue, with just as much emotional response.

She rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Why did you leave us?"

Her words jostled Naruto from his fixed state. His jumbled emotions screamed to be displayed, but the one that made itself most prominent was anger, and he stalked forward. "Why don't you answer her, you jerk?"

Sasuke said nothing.

"Oh, wait," he announced sarcastically, overtaken with the urge to hit below the belt. "You don't need to tell us - you were training with that creep."

"I killed him," he said faintly.

The air changed in the office, replaced with dense silence. Sakura hastily pulled back from him as though glass barbs jutted from his skin.

"What?" Naruto croaked.

Sasuke's eyes dropped to his opened palm. "I killed him," he repeated. "I slew Orochimaru."

Naruto didn't doubt him – Sasuke never lied, especially about something so grave.

Sakura stopped crying, but the tears streamed from her eyes. She looked scared.

"I'm going," Sasuke grumbled as he turned to leave. He stopped at the sight of Tsunade and Izumo standing in the door's threshold.

She had evidently heard him, for she appeared equally, if not more, startled than Sakura. She couldn't seem to find her voice until a few seconds later. "Your… your room is ready," she whispered more than said.

Sasuke shouldered past the two. "Oh, and I need my sword back."

"Your sword?"

"That ANBU confiscated it. I need it back."

She nodded. "I'll have it delivered to your room."

"Good." He exited with Izumo.

Tsunade tottered back to her desk in a state of shock. She grabbed a pile of paper and searched through the pages, but her actions held no purpose. She dropped the sheets and buried her flushed face in her hands. "Shikamaru," she said, "record that Orochimaru's death has been confirmed."

He held up the document he had inscribed earlier. "I already did. I knew Sasuke was responsible – just look at his eyes."

"I was afraid to."

Nothing more was said after that and the only sound was the rain pattering against the window.

.


	4. Elucidations and Wastes

.

"Heko obi:" a half obi worn by men

"Mitsutomoe": a traditional Japanese design of three interlocked magatama said to represent the sky, earth, and humankind; it's the design of the Cursed Mark

"Tonkatsu": Fried, breaded porkchops

"Katsudon": Tonkatsu severed in a bowl on hot rice, with a sweet onion sauce and egg on top. My favorite Japanese food

.

* * *

_Elucidations and Wastes_

* * *

.

Sasuke lay on the bed in the visitor room, staring at the watermark forming on the ceiling like a watery eye. The storm hadn't let up battering the village and worsened by the minute, transforming rooftop outlines into hazy white sprays. He stretched leisurely on the soft cotton sheets. He regularly took being dry and warm for granted; when he considered that mere hours before he had been plodding through the monsoon, facing the possibility of sleeping outdoors, he developed a renewed appreciation for coziness.

He got up and checked his drying clothes hanging over a chair near his returned chokuto; the moist chill of dampness clung to the garments, so he grabbed a neatly-folded yukata from a drawer in the corner and slipped into it. He had to get something to eat – he was famished from his three days exodus.

Tying the heko obi around his waist, he mentally replayed his plans for the ensuing days: he'd replenish his supply of weapons and gather any information about the location of Akatsuki's headquarters so he could track down Itachi. This had been his dream, his goal for years, and now that it was finally coming to culmination, he couldn't afford any mistakes. He slid his wrist bracers up his forearms. He just hoped Itachi hadn't honed his strength any further; otherwise, Sasuke's training would have been a waste, and he'd most likely end up dead. _It was always like that_, he reflected bitterly. _No matter how hard I practiced, how much I progressed, he was three steps ahead of me. _He tied the obi fiercely into a knot. "Won't he be surprised this time around," he grinned contemptuously, envisioning his gory triumph.

In spite of his assuredness in his dynamism, disquiet clung to him like an incurable illness. Orochimaru knew Sasuke hungered for strength to defeat Itachi, and thus tutored him with that in mind… the fee for his teachings being Sasuke's body to serve as an eventual container for the teacher's soul. Regardless, the Sannin had taught him blind, for without evaluating Itachi's advancements to devise counter methods, Orochimaru was treading in dangerous waters and taking an extremely risky chance concerning how to train Sasuke to kill his brother. Sasuke had considered this the entire time he remained with his as-of-late caregiver, but simply placed his conviction in Orochimaru by hoping he was wise enough to foresee this dilemma.

He stood before the room's mirror and gave himself a once-over. Smoothing his yukata, he was about to turn away, when his eyes automatically flitted over his left shoulder as they'd done so frequently in the past. Hesitantly, he tugged open the yukata and gazed at the previously hidden flesh, or rather, the mark upon it. This was Orochimaru's gift to him: the Ten no Juin. The mitsutomoe remained dormant on his skin like a slumbering beast, deceptively concealing their baleful capability. After Orochimaru had bitten him in the Forest of Death during the Chuunin Exams and the trio of Otonin ambushed Team 7 was when Sasuke discovered the mark's secret: ascension. A blessing of immeasurable, bone-splitting power. When activated, the seal would increase Sasuke's strength tenfold by way of plunging him into a frenzied rage. He had taken out the Otonin with next to nothing effort, but the way he did it scared him in hindsight; a sadistic bliss had intoxicated him as he ignored their entreaties of leniency, and he devastated them with a firestorm of merciless cruelty. Had Sakura not begged him to stop, he would've slaughtered the lot, including the unconscious kunoichi Kin. He avoided using the mark whenever possible thereafter, for the risk of it devouring his mind beyond the point of return was very much a dark reality. The incident at the Valley of the End could not be helped – that had been Naruto's fault.

He studied the mitsutomoe with a mixture of reverence and disgust. It had been the catalyst that instigated him to accept the Sannin's guidance… the force that pushed him closer to his goal, further than anything he'd gained from his studies under Umino Iruka and Hatake Kakashi combined. He thought it would've vanished after Orochimaru's death, but it showed no signs of fading. Nevertheless, he vowed he would not utilize the mark for his battle with Itachi, for he needed to prove to himself that his new power was the fruit of his years of labor and not simply an enzyme transmitted through a wound.

He slid the sheathed chokuto into his obi and opened the door to leave but stopped in his tracks when he found Sakura and Naruto sitting in the hallway.

"We need to talk to you," Naruto demanded, clambering to his feet.

He eyed them disdainfully. "I don't need to speak with anyone," and he shoved past the pair.

"Hey, wait a second!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's yukata. "Where are you going?"

Sasuke whipped around and slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!"

Naruto wasn't fazed; he grabbed his wrist. "Where are you going?" he enunciated each word.

It happened before Naruto could react: Sasuke's hand clamped the other's with crushing force. "I guess you didn't hear me the first time, Usuratonkachi," he whispered in an eerily composed demeanor. "I owe no one an explanation, least of all, you."

Naruto buckled under the bone-breaking pressure, his face pure white.

"Sasuke! You're hurting him!" Sakura screamed.

He paid her no attention; his focus was strictly on the blonde. "You think you're so tough, don't you?" His mouth stretched into an unhinged smile as Naruto sunk to the floor. "I should've killed you… I would've gotten the Mangekyou and not have to rely on Orochimaru. It's your fault I left."

"That's a lie!" Naruto gasped, quelling his creeping doubts.

Sasuke lolled his head back and popped his neck with a sharp crack. "You'll never amount to anything, Naruto – remember that."

"Let go of him!" Sakura demanded, rushing forward and attempting to peel Sasuke's finger's off Naruto's blanched hand; it was as impossible as tearing a deeply anchored tree root from the earth.

"Beg," Sasuke addressed Naruto coldly. "Beg for my forgiveness."

Naruto's vision blurred as Sasuke doubled his crushing vigor. Instead of conceding to the Uchiha's order, a weakened smile played at his lips. "I… asked where… you're… going."

Sasuke's previously flat eyes widened with wrath, and Naruto was confident he'd break all the bones in his hand. Instead, he said, "I'm going to get some dinner. Satisfied?" He threw the other's hand off and left, not giving so much as a second glance back at them as Sakura huddled over Naruto's injured appendage and assessed the injury.

Outside, Sasuke turned left and trekked through the waterlogged street. The icy splashes soaked his garments and the cloth clung to his body, sending a deep ache through his bones. He didn't care at which dining establishment he'd eat – the first one he'd chance upon would win his business.

And what he found was a tonkatsu shop. He entered the intimate dining area and sat at a table without waiting for the host to greet him. When the man welcomed him with a glass of water, Sasuke brutishly commanded, "Katsudon. And an order of saké."

"Yes, sir," he acknowledged, scribbling down the order. He then peered at Sasuke with an air of excitement. "Hey, aren't you Uchiha Sasuke?"

He slammed his fist upon the table, upsetting his water. "Go!" he roared.

"Y-y-" the man babbled before scurrying away.

Sasuke pressed his palm against his forehead. _Don't take it out on strangers – save it for Itachi_, he reprimanded himself. He sopped up the spilt water with his napkin. If only that idiot Naruto hadn't ambushed him like that outside his room.

The man returned with the saké and humbly slid it towards him. Sasuke picked up the sakazuki, but right as it touched his lips he heard that aggravating voice again.

"Okay, we let you find a restaurant. Now, talk to us," Naruto ordered as he and Sakura seated themselves at his table.

"Great… an entourage of idiots," he huffed. He eyes darted over Naruto's mottled hand before he took a cursory sip of the drink and grimaced; his palate was accustomed to the exquisite quality of cedar-aged rice wines prized by Orochimaru – this inferior excuse nearly made him gag.

"Sasuke," Sakura asked, touching his arm. "Did you really kill Orochimaru?"

He barked a laugh and lowered the cup. "Unbelievable. Why would I say I did if it weren't true, Sakura? Come on, you were allegedly the smartest kunoichi in our class – use your head."

"Hey, hey! Don't talk to her like that!" Naruto warned, repulsed by his disrespect.

Sasuke gulped the warm drink and glared at him. "What big words coming from the future Hokage!" he heckled. "I assume with that ever-inflated ego of yours you're still a genin, right smart-ass?"

Naruto's face went maroon and he averted his gaze.

"I knew it," Sasuke snidely chuckled, downing more of the drink. "Yes, I killed him."

The two were silent. A gust of wind blew through the entry of the restaurant, filling the room with rawness.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

He rolled the pottery cup between his thumb and index finger, his vision lost in memory. "While you've been living your fairytale life here in Konoha, I've seen Hell. Orochimaru decided it was time to perform the soul transfer. I wasn't going to give up my body without a fight, though; I still had a mission to carry out."

"So," Naruto began sternly, "why are you back then? Was killing Orochimaru your new goal, and now that you've done it you can return home for good?"

"No."

He ground his nails into the varnished table, foreseeing the pending answer but not wanting to hear it. "Tell me, then!"

Sasuke tapped the last drops into his mouth and said, "Intel." He folded his arms and rested them on the table. "I'm looking for Akatsuki."

Sakura lowered her head. "You're… going after him, aren't you?" she whispered, her eyes concealed beneath her hair.

He blankly stared at his flexed knuckles as the rain pattered outside. "Yes."

"Ah, hell," Naruto swore under his breath.

Sakura started trembling like an aspen. "Sasuke," she breathed, "I wish you'd give up on that. It's not important."

"How would you understand?!" he shrieked as he shot up from his chair, his voice amplifying with each word. "You have your mother, Sakura! How would you like it if somebody you trusted since childhood murdered her and everyone in this area of Konoha?" His face contorted in agony and he collapsed in his seat. "You're seven years old, and after returning from a day at Ninja Academy you find your entire family slaughtered by someone you adulated! And he says he killed them purely to test the limits of his skill!" He wiped his tears away with his rain-drenched sleeve. "It would be like if Kakashi or Naruto killed your family." His head drooped lachrymosely. "You don't know what it's like."

She sniffled. "You're right… I don't."

He lifted his head slightly.

"I can't… I can't imagine losing my family to murder, Sasuke, and I'm not going to lie and say I can empathize with you fully. But," she lifted her face, the tears sprinkling from her eyes, "just move forward! Exacting revenge on Itachi won't reverse the past. You'll have blood staining your hands… like him." She pushed a lock of hair away from her mouth. "Do you want your loved ones' spirits to see you fall like that?"

Sasuke's gaze was unfocused. "It haunts me."

"What?"

"The ambition to kill him. It's on my mind every waking moment; from the time I rise to when I fall asleep." He respired shakily. "It's what's kept me going these years."

Naruto scowled. "You're obsessed."

"You don't need to convince me of that. Everything I do, every jutsu I learn, revolves around one thing: enhancing my strength to finish him." He dug his fingers down his scalp to his forehead. "I've tried driving Itachi from my mind, but I can't do it. If I stop him, I won't be haunted anymore."

"But…" she shook her head, "…even if you _do_ manage to kill him, you might end up dying, too."

He thinly smirked and said, "As long as I can take him to Hell with me I'll be satisfied."

"Why are you doing this?!" she whispered hoarsely, her eyes huge. "You don't need to resort to murder! You're just ripping yourself apart." She dropped her gaze to her lap soberly. "We're your friends – it's our responsibility to shoulder your burden, too."

The host returned with a dish piled with hot rice and topped with fried pork and stewed onions.

"She's right," Naruto agreed. "We don't wanna see you suffer… or die. Just forget about Itachi and start living your life."

Sasuke laughed with triteness. "Have you even been listening? I… can't. He controls my life." He swallowed the remnants of the saké, which dribbled down his chin.

"You shouldn't drink," Naruto cautioned.

He snorted. "Shut up, loser."

Very quietly, Sakura slid the sakazuki a few centimeters away from Sasuke's reach.

Sasuke's eyes remained closed, and he slightly swayed in his seat. "More than half my life has been driven by revenge." His lids parted, revealing his deaden orbs beneath. "Do you know how I'd answer if you asked me what my future ambitions from my childhood were? I'd tell you I can't remember." He buckled under the surge of tears and he wept tremulously. "I don't know who I am, but I'm _not_ that Uchiha Sasuke." He could barely decipher their faces beyond the distorting curtain of tears clinging to his eyelashes.

Naruto summoned an awkward smile. "But… we do know you, Sasuke, and you're a cool guy - "

"No I'm not!" he shrieked as he hurled the sakazuki across the room. It shattered and sprayed the floor with shards. "Don't give me that condescending shit, you fucking ass! I am a despicable person and you know it!" He jabbed him in the chest with drunken stability. "You're a goddamned liar, Uzumaki, and a bad one at that!"

"Sasuke!" Sakura grabbed his shoulder. "I want you to stop!"

He averted his focus from Naruto and settled it on her, replete with blatant cockiness. "Aw… did I hurt my little Sakura blossom's feelings? I can't believe it – you actually scolded me instead of rambling about how cute I am!" He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Here – I know what'll make it all better," and he gruffly pressed his lips against hers in a boorish, open-mouthed kiss.

Sakura squirmed and hit his chest in objection as his tongue slapped wetly in her mouth. He pulled away with haughty contentment and wiped away his drool at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah… you've wanted that forever, haven't you, Sakura-chan?"

She slapped him square across the face, gasping.

He leered and put his hand on his hip. "C'mon – I did you a favor! Don't be acting all modest." He leaned forward and placed his mouth a millimeter from her ear, the reek of alcohol dense on his hot breath. "Want to know something? I didn't want to be your boyfriend back then, and I _never_ do."

Naruto was already on his feet. "You scum!" he screamed and his fist flew forward at the Uchiha's cheek.

Sasuke effortlessly seized his hand. "This again? Do you want to die, Naruto?" he whispered, pushing Sakura away. "I'll end you just like I did that bastard snake." His hand rested on his chokuto hilt and unsheathed it a few centimeters. "This place needs more decorations – your innards strung around the walls would be a nice touch." Light danced off the exposed area of the blade. "How 'bout it?"

Naruto glared at him, when his fury dwindled and was replaced with that of true pity. "I used to envy you, Sasuke," he said. "I wanted to be like you." He sank back into his chair, his cerulean eyes swimming in sympathy. "But seeing what you are now… how much pain you're in," he shook his head. "It's not worth it. I'm glad I'm me."

Sasuke remained standing, gazing straight at Naruto. He forcefully smiled and stared at his feet, shivering as he breathed. "You're not afraid to speak your mind… how admirable." He fell back into his chair and mumbled what sounded like an apology.

Sakura's expression softened. "I know revenge is important to you, but you have to remember the other things that are important, also." She indicated outside. "What about the village? Your friends?" She squeezed his hand firmly. "Do you know how many people will be torn if you end up dying from this endeavor?"

"Yeah, Sasuke." Naruto smiled broadly to conceal his trembling lip. "Grandma Tsunade worked hard to change your Bingo Book status! Man, could you imagine how sad she'd be if something happened to you?"

Sasuke slid his hand away from Sakura's touch. "She barely knows me. Shikamaru said the only reason she pardoned me is because you appealed."

"She didn't have to, though." Naruto's demeanor sobered. "If everybody who'd ever been wronged got revenge, there'd be nobody left in the world." He pointed at himself. "People shunned me when I was younger, but I don't let that bother me now. If I got back at the people who hurt me, and their families avenged them, and then somebody got revenge for me… well, it wouldn't be good." He grinned. "I know you can let this all go, Sasuke. You're one of the best shinobi in the village, after all – no, in all the Shinobi Countries!" He looked down at his own hands. "Maybe… maybe you can introduce us to the real Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura experienced tightness in her heart hearing the sentiment. "We're both here for you, Sasuke – never forget that."

Sasuke half-focused on the dish of cooling katsudon before him, lost in thought. "If you're truly my friends, you'll let me do this without opposing. Anyways… my spirit died a long time ago – all that's left is for my body to follow." Standing, he muttered, "I'm not hungry – you can have the katsudon," and he vanished through the fluttering noren, leaving Sakura and Naruto with a deep sense of failure, as well as the bill for the food and the broken cup.

.

* * *

.

As Sasuke walked away, the full magnitude of Naruto and Sakura's preaching festered in his mind like a gangrenous infection until it came to a head. His stomach groaned with hunger and he regretted abandoning his meal like he had. Even so, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy it with them grilling him like they were. He exhaled loudly, staggering a bit. He decided he'd try again later to get some food, hoping his ex-teammates would tire by then and give up reprimanding him.

He'd never been able to tolerate that about those two: their dogged determination to become his 'buddy' and convert him into a willing member of their team. He hadn't asked to be partnered up with them – they had all been thrust together in the Ninja Academy without consensus, so he didn't know why they tried escalating their relationship into something personal. He wouldn't have it - he far surmounted them in power, skills and brains; sure, sometimes they had assisted him collectively on missions when he found himself in tight spots, but more often than not they hindered him, the indomitable spirit that he was. As for comradeship, they were absolute jokes. There was Sakura with her infuriating prattle about her undying love for him, and Naruto, the boisterous embarrassment of all of Konoha; incessantly competing against him… trying to outshine him….

And steadily, the blonde had succeeded. On the bridge in Nami no Kuni; proving courageous against Orochimaru while Sasuke lay paralyzed with terror; fighting the trio of Amegakure ninja and their shadow clones in the Forest of Death; beating Gaara into submission while he himself couldn't move on account of forcing Chidori too many times… and the most irritating incident: when Naruto's Rasengan had blasted open that hospital water well, while Sasuke's Chidori had only dented it. Naruto's successes awakened an unbecoming jealously in Sasuke, sickening him whenever the usuratonkachi crossed his mind. Perhaps it wasn't Naruto who was the loser, after all….

Another reason Sasuke couldn't stand Naruto was outwardly irrelevant, but noteworthy enough to him: Naruto's birthday was the date of his clan's annihilation. Every time Sasuke mourned the anniversary, Naruto raucously reminded everyone within earshot it was his day of revelry, carrying on as though he hadn't a care in the world. During the autumn of the year Team 7 formed, Sasuke had been meditatively praying at his family's graves, when at once he heard Naruto cavorting and reveling like a drunken buffoon. Sasuke had tried blocking out the ruckus to continue paying his respects, but the other had spotted him and instigated a loud, one-sided conversation, even while Sasuke stood before the graves. The whole irony had enraged Sasuke to such a fearsome extent that he started viewing his teammate as a corporeal reminder of his family's death, and perhaps if the blonde died, Sasuke might be able to continue with his healing process. This deranged manner of thinking had made it all the more effortless during his attempt to take Naruto's life at the Valley of the End.

Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. If he had no one to answer to, he probably would've destroyed them long ago. Nevertheless, he did have someone to whom he answered: his stupid conscience that was long overdue to atrophy and vanish.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel a scrap of a bond with the pair… the same connection that had prompted him to apologize to them at the tonkatsu shop. He'd be lying to himself to deny that he never experienced the rare instances of amusement with the team that didn't come at their expense.

But he couldn't let those feelings cloud his mind. He was a ninja… a tool. Emotions other than hate and anger were for weaklings. That had been the creed of the Uchiha clan. He wouldn't let anyone in, and he didn't want to get close to anyone.

His heart pounded in his forehead. He had developed chronic high blood pressure following the clan's slaughter, despite his young age. While co-inhabiting with Orochimaru, Kabuto had concocted a medication to keep the disorder in check, but now he had nothing. He inhaled as evenly as he could to calm himself.

Somebody stood before his door; he recognized the distinctive silver hair and facemask straightaway as he approached. "Kakashi."

"I had to see for myself," the jounin admitted. "I guess what Tsunade said about you returning was true." A smile showed through the cloth concealing his mouth and nose. "It's good to see you again, Sasuke."

"Whatever." He unlocked the door, but glanced over when he felt Kakashi staring at him expectantly. "Come in," he offered after a length.

"Really? Thank you!" he innocently beamed.

Sasuke knew Kakashi would interrogate him, but since the jounin was nearly on par with his strength, he considered speaking with his onetime teacher more fulfilling than getting an earful from Naruto and Sakura. He closed the door and sat at the small table where Kakashi waited.

"You've been drinking?" Kakashi asked disapprovingly, observing Sasuke's unsteady gait.

"Mind your own business – I'm not hurting anyone."

Silence pervaded the room for a few moments before Kakashi spoke again. "So, you killed him, huh?"

"Yes."

He couldn't stem the relief-laced sigh. "People generations from now will exalt you for what you did. You're a hero."

He arrogantly settled himself back in his chair and scoffed. "They should."

"Careful, Sasuke. Pride is a deadly sin," he warned darkly.

"Don't worry, I've partaken in all of them by now. And if I recall, lust is a sin, too, Kakashi," he added, referring to Kakashi's habit of reading erotic novels. "Don't preach advice unless you follow it yourself."

"Ah, touché," he concurred before shepherding the conversation back to the true intention. "I assume hunting down Itachi is still your priority?"

He nodded.

"I guess you haven't amended your ways." He scooted his chair closer to the table. "I'm no longer your teacher, so I can't tell you what to do; but as a fellow shinobi, I urge you to stop pursuing your brother."

"You sound like those two idiots," he vituperated.

He solemnly studied him. "You shouldn't refer to them so hatefully. Ever since you left they've been worried sick about you."

He gritted his jaw.

"It's been especially hard on Naruto. He trained so hard in hopes it'd bring you back. You know he left for two years to train with Jiraiya, right?"

Sasuke's anger flared. "That's not my fault. I gave up on Konoha a long time ago, and that's my prerogative." He exhaled roughly. "I have my own life to live - he needs to grow up and realize it."

"I don't think he can. You're just as much a goal to him as becoming Hokage."

Sasuke repentantly glanced away. "The idiot… and after I tried killing him."

"After all that mess he's still loyal to you. You were his first peer who acknowledged his efforts, regardless how harsh your comments were." He leaned closer. "That is what he craved: response from a peer – and you gave that to him. For that, he was, and will be, forever grateful."

"Well, it's fine if he holds me up on a pedestal, but I owe him no obligation," he grumbled while he stretched indifferently.

"Showing respect isn't an obligation, Sasuke – it's human courtesy."

He furrowed his brow.

"But I digress… retaliation against Itachi is not the way to resolve issues."

The words roiled in Sasuke's brain before they finally ruptured. "You think my family's slaughter is an 'issue'?" he demanded with scorching eyes, nearly on his feet. "It's that simple to you, isn't it?"

Kakashi bestowed him no reaction and continued to gaze at him composedly. Sasuke, though, wanted a reaction - something to prove his message had made the desired effect. Perhaps then he could justify assailing Kakashi, as his fury was fast approaching an apex and needed an outlet.

"You're an adult now. You need to grow up and face your problems like a man. I've known people just like you, and I've seen the outcomes." His gaze flickered over Sasuke's left wrist; Sasuke quietly closed his right hand around it. "I know you're suffering, but I also know what you're like, and trust me, you're not suited for revenge."

His eyes sharpened. "It's what keeps me going! Why do you think I went to Orochimaru and contended with him and what he did to me for two years? I needed to get stronger, and fast. You just weren't cutting it for me."

Kakashi didn't flinch at the insult. "And what did he do to you, Sasuke?"

He pressed his forehead against his palms. "Come on, you know his reputation. I told Naruto I'd do anything for power, even give my body to the devil."

"And look at you. You're strong, yes, but at what cost?" He shook his head. "This is what I mean – already you've slid down a slippery path. Running away… revenge… nothing good has, or will, come of those actions."

"I used to revenge was bad when I was a child. But after Itachi did what he did, I saw everything in a new light. Retribution was the eminent choice, and I still feel that way." He clenched his fists upon the tabletop. "I know… I know ultimately revenge doesn't solve anything and just exacerbates the problem," he looked straight at him, "but for me, it's right."

"What about restoring your clan? You can't do that if you're dead."

"I won't die."

"What if you're wrong?"

Sasuke said nothing.

Kakashi surveyed him in the hush, absentmindedly fingering a small knothole in the table. "Sasuke," he started, "when I was younger, I was in a team with a cousin of yours, Obito. During a mission, a squad of assassins from Iwagakure ambushed us. I lost my left eye in the fight. The shinobi who attacked me was too fast, but Obito defeated him with his Sharingan. Obito was able to hold his own for some time with the second enemy…" he faltered, "but then, the assassin crushed the entire right side of his body with a boulder."

A wisp of shock flickered in Sasuke's staid eyes.

"Another member of our squad, Rin, was a medical ninja, but she couldn't do much to save him. Obito insisted I get his intact Sharingan so I could defeat the assassin. I agreed, and Rin implanted his eye in my left socket; that's how I acquired the Sharingan."

Sasuke found himself staring at the area of Kakashi's headband that concealed his left eye. "I… I had no idea…."

"You never questioned how I had a kekkei genkai exclusive to the Uchiha bloodline?" he queried disappointedly.

He had trouble exhuming an answer to the spontaneous question. "Well… no. I thought it was a fluke from birth."

"The best-prepared minds are the inquisitive ones – remember that."

"I _am_ inquisitive… I just never wondered about your eye," he defensively gnarled.

"At any rate, I was able to slay Obito's killer." He shook his head, distracted by his memories. "I feel I'm to blame for Obito's death. Although he and I weren't the closest amity-wise, we were teammates. His grave is what I visit every time I go to the Third Training Grounds."

The subsequent silence reverberated excruciatingly in Sasuke's bones, and he felt obligated to riposte. "Yeah, but… you're different from me."

"And how am I so different from you?" he snapped, his eyes narrowing with spite. "Because you've seen death? Trust me… I've seen my share of it. My comrades dying, my father committing suicide… I've suffered too, kid."

Sasuke's impermeable front suffered a blow from Kakashi's disclosure about his father, but he hid the damage. "That's not what I meant."

"Well then, by all means, please tell."

He glared at him in the slightest before collecting his rampant reflections. "It's just…."

"Yes?"

He tightened his fists. "You're more resilient than I am."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, stunned by the response.

"I know emotions interfere with my judgment. You don't… let your emotions run your life. You're a true shinobi." He struggled against the tears pooling in his eyes. "No matter how you're feeling, you push that aside." His head sagged from the heaviness of remorse. "I'm commending you. To endure so much death and not let it sully you… that's what I mean by you're different from me. You could see the substance of teamwork, even if Obito wasn't your best friend."

Kakashi's appreciation flickered in his exposed eye. "Those are profound words, Sasuke." He stared at the black square that was the window. "Itachi's not my brother, so I can't say I experienced your feelings of losing a sibling, but we were in the same ANBU squad. I even did him a couple of favors before he started acting strange, around the time he became captain." He glanced over at Sasuke's left shoulder.

"What type of favors?"

"What does it matter? It obviously failed, and it was a long time ago for all of us," he smiled. "You Uchiha are really something – you've all impacted me. Even Obito, as much as he annoyed me, made me reexamine my own way of life. Only when he opened my eyes with his philosophical words did I understand the magnitude of cooperation."

"And what were those words?"

"My mantra to this day: 'In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage. However… those who do not care for and support their fellows are even lower than that.'"

He chuckled knowingly. "The Third Training Grounds… I remember you told us that after the bell exercise."

Mention of the past seemed to pain him. "Yeah… I did. Regardless," he held up his finger, "even though Obito died at the hands of that Iwanin, I didn't let revenge cloud my mind, which is what you must do."

The effect was as quick as poison leaching through pristine water, with just as dire results. Sasuke blinked. "What are you talking about? You just said you killed the Iwagakure shinobi, didn't you? Isn't that retaliation?"

Kakashi looked puzzled. "Well, no – I was carrying out the mission."

"No, you took a life for a life – that's payback!" He flew to his feet, his agitation flying back tenfold in outrageous scandal. "What the hell was the point of your story, Kakashi? You scold me, but then pardon your actions!"

"I'm not pardoning them," he answered firmly. Yet it was too late – the irreparable damage had been done.

"I will NOT sit here and let you spoon-feed me your double standards!" He stomped to the door and swung it open. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Sas-"

"Goodnight, Kakashi!" he repeated through gritted teeth.

He obliged and exited the room. "Just… really take to heart what I said, all right? Don't let that hot-headed temper of yours impair your judgment."

Sasuke slammed the door. "Fuck!"

.


	5. Preparation and Discovery

_._

* * *

_Preparation and Discovery_

* * *

_._

The sun broke through the lingering clouds at dawn, washing the soaked land in warming light. Mist lay on the ground like gauzy cotton, and the air was laden with humidity.

Itachi watched the sunrise from a tree that had served as his sleeping spot the night before. He had started his journey to Konoha the afternoon previous in aspiration of locating Sasuke; during the trek, a monsoon had unleashed its fury over the land, and he was forced to seek shelter in the tree. He hadn't proof Sasuke was back in the village, but knowing his brother, he considered it likely he'd return to his childhood home either for nostalgia or recon in the interim.

He pulled an orange from his supply bag and peeled it, waiting. His vantage point was nestled amongst the tree canopies two-hundred yards from the Konoha perimeter fence. He couldn't chance getting any closer; the ANBU Black Ops would spot him. He ate the fruit, his eyes never straying from the gate.

Within five minutes the gate doors parted. Itachi shoved the remaining orange into his mouth and craned his neck for a better gander. He squinted and saw a man with what looked like a cart approaching, silhouetted by the blinding glare of the sun.

Itachi watched the man close the distance between them. He knew what had to be done, and not for the first time he thought about the likely outcome_. Once I do this, I can't back out._ He could hear the cart's creaking wheels. _Am I prepared for the consequences?_

A twig snapped under the man's foot.

"I am." He leapt down to the ground with the agility of a cat and stood in the middle of the path. "Sir!" he called.

The man had only noticed him. "Oh, hello young man. What can I do for you?"

"You didn't happen to come from Konoha by any chance, did you?" He didn't want to alert the man he had been spying on him.

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact." He patted his cart. "Been selling my pottery there since yesterday. I made an excellent profit!"

He couldn't care less about the man's lucrative venture. "Is it true that Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha?"

The man's eyes brightened. "You know, that's what I heard! Been rumors flying around the village since last night about him – the whole town's abuzz." He paused to light his pipe. "Not that I know who he is," he shrugged. "I'm from Iwagakure, myself."

Itachi's lips stretched into a self-satisfied smile – his hunch had been right. He walked up to the stranger and withdrew a small piece of paper from inside his robe. "I must ask a favor of you, old man…."

.

* * *

.

Sasuke pulled the covers over his head to block out the rude sunlight. He'd had trouble sleeping through the night, and every time slumber brushed against his eyes he experienced troubling dreams of events from his childhood or when he had attempted to kill Naruto. _This village is too damn evocative, _he thought, draping his arm over his forehead. The watermark on the ceiling had doubled in size since the night before; as luck would have it, another storm had been predicted for that night. He hated the rainy season.

He listened to the ticking of the wall clock, allowing his mind to drift. Since age seven, life had been a nightmare from which he'd had no hopes of waking, but the last three years had been especially testing. It started when Orochimaru infected him with the Ten no Juin at the Chuunin Exams. Following that, his mind began deteriorating due to the mark, despite Kakashi having sealed it. He craved power, which was what Orochimaru had dangled seductively before him. Unable to resist the titillating proposal, Sasuke ran off from the village, but Naruto tried intervening. Sasuke had remembered what Itachi told him that cold October night after the village slaughter, the air scented thickly with the reek of blood: the only way he could kill Itachi was if he obtained the superlative Uchiha kekkei genkai, the Mangekyou Sharingan. The drawback to acquiring such sublime power was that he would have to murder his best friend. Feeling he had nothing to lose, he fought Naruto to near-death, but at the last moment vowed that he would kill his brother another way, his own way, without having to obtain the forbidden technique. He'd figure out how to terminate him on his own and not rely on the tormentor's hints. Disgusted with what he'd been reduced to, Sasuke fled to Orochimaru's silken promises and a debauched existence that he'd hoped would distract him from his internal conflicts and suffering, but ultimately had not.

He laughed as he contemplated all of it. He was wrong in thinking Itachi wasn't controlling his life – after all, had he not divulged to Naruto and Sakura the night before that his brother held an obsessive spell over him? He pushed the reflections from his brain, snubbing them as he habitually did with so many problems in his life.

His left wrist itched; Orochimaru had told him it was normal for scars to do so even years after they formed. Carved into his skin like a dried stream was a tawny scar that had lain hidden from everyone's eyes for years under bandages or wrist bracers. Following the massacre, he fell into a debilitating depression; one night he decided he didn't want to go on and attempted to take his life. He hadn't cut deep enough to puncture the artery and only managed to sever a vein; he was found and rescued by a passerby, and awoke later in the hospital. The doctor told him he was lucky to have survived, but Sasuke interpreted it as a sign that he needed to avenge his loved ones. It was after that that he was moved from his family house to the Academy dorm by order of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He curled into a tight ball on his side, too comfortable to move. It'd been so long since he'd had no responsibilities in the forms of missions or training, and he wanted nothing more than to take advantage of this precious free time. Yet he knew he had mandatory tasks to accomplish. He groaned and sat up with little enthusiasm. He decided fresh air might clear his head, so he unlatched the window and opened it. Bird serenades filled the sky, and the sunrise had the appearance of molten gold, bathing the Hokage face cliff in ochre luminescence. He deeply inhaled the clean air and felt better. Just then, his stomach growled. He had never left the room for dinner after Kakashi's visitation, and he was ravenous. He threw on his dry clothing, secured his chokuto on his waist, and left the room.

While navigating the halls, he checked how much money he possessed. He frowned – he could perhaps purchase a few paper bombs and a shuriken with his limited funds. He'd never wanted for anything while with his provider Orochimaru; either the items he coveted were given to him or the Sannin allotted him money. Reimmersed into society, he remembered what an inconvenience money was.

He turned the corner to find Hyuga Neji heading in his direction, diligently reading a scroll. Neji rolled up the paper, and then noticed Sasuke. "Well, well… if it isn't the rogue ninja, Uchiha Sasuke. I was hearing word that you'd returned."

"Don't tell me you're going to give me hell, too," Sasuke said, itching for a fight.

He blinked. "Why would I?"

Sasuke hadn't been prepared for the question and was momentarily at a loss. "Everyone else has berated me for wanting to avenge my family; aren't you going to jump on the bandwagon?"

He shook his head. "It's not my place to do something so brazen. Revenge is a personal matter." He fixed his acute gaze upon him. "If you feel strongly enough that you must right a wrong, that's your choice and yours alone – I, as an outsider, have no right to deter you."

Sasuke studied him for a moment before a smile of high opinion formed on his lips. "I think you're the only one in this village who has a working mind, Hyuga."

"My sentiments exactly," he shrugged bombastically, and he started walking again.

"Hey!"

Neji peered over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Sasuke grinned. "You still owe me a fight."

He chuckled and nodded. "You're right." He held out the scroll with regret. "I have to take this report to Lady Tsunade. Maybe later we can finally find out who is indeed the superior shinobi."

He smiled wryly and said, "You're on."

"Oh, just to inform you, I'm a jounin now."

"All the more reason I want to challenge you."

.

* * *

.

Breakfast was uneventful for Sasuke. He enjoyed his meal of smoked fish, rice, and sliced tomatoes without an audience of chastisers, and felt much better with his stomach filled with its first hot meal in days. Gulping his tea, he threw some money on the table and left for the weapon shop. The sun had burned away the clinging mist that had earlier made the streets appear vaporous, and now the clear brightness saturated the town, much to his chagrin. He'd never been a fan of sunny days.

He found the weapon store and entered. It was dim inside, and a collection of shinobi tools lined the walls, ranging from harmless smoke bombs to razor-edged katana and pikes. He wrinkled his brow sourly, knowledgeable that he'd only be able to afford the lower end items.

"Welcome," greeted the shopkeeper while he propped a few kunai upon a shelf. "How may I help you?"

He glimpsed the items available, formulating a mental tab. "I need three paper bombs and six shuriken."

"Certainly," the man replied; he started gathering the weaponry.

Sasuke noticed a box with the label Fire Blossom affixed. The contents were sheaves of tawny paper with the kanji for "bomb" written on the surface of each. He had never heard of such a weapon, even while with Orochimaru. The description tag on the box said they were point-blank paper bombs with a stronger adhesive than regular paper bombs. The potential destruction of the item impressed him, and on a whim he considered upgrading his paper bomb to a few stacks of these. His thrill was short-lived, however, when he caught glimpse of the exorbitant price. He grabbed a single sheath of the dozen sheets wrapped with a crimson ribbon and took it to the counter.

"Will that be all for you today, then?" the shop keeper asked as he counted the items.

"Yeah."

The man tallied the cost of the weapons. "All right, that's 4,700 ryo."

Had there been another arsenal shop in Konoha, Sasuke would've laughed at the total and flashed a rude gesture at the man to let him know what he thought of the prices. Sadly, he knew this was the sole weapon shop in the area. He counted his money, his stomach plummeting when he saw he was 1,700 short. "I only have 3,000."

"I see… I can put the Fire Blossom back, then –"

"No! I want that!" He determined which of the overpriced pieces was dispensable. "I don't need the paper bombs."

He nodded, but then caught sight of the sword Sasuke carried on his hip. "What a lovely sword. May I see it?"

Sasuke unsheathed it and held it firmly before the man. He wasn't about to let a stranger handle it.

The man didn't argue. He glided his hand down the blade. "Such craftsmanship," he gushed, admiring the details of the chokuto. "Tamagahane steel." He tentatively angled the blade so he could examine the tip. "Made in the Soshu Kitae method with seven layers, too!"

"You've got a good eye," Sasuke commented.

"Tell you what: if you trade me this, I'll let you have the paper bombs, plus I'll throw in a dozen kunai and a dozen Fire blossoms. How's that sound?"

His first inclination was to bark out a laugh of disbelief. The man clearly took Sasuke for being a fool. They both very well knew that the legendary sword's value was greater than a handful of kunai and bombs – greater than the entire arsenal in the shop combined. He sheathed the weapon. "It's not for sale."

"I'll give you 50,000 ryo – "

"I said it's not for sale," he repeated warningly.

"Such a pity," he consented, though his eyes shone with a yearning as he marveled the blade. The man collected the money and presented the items. Sasuke prepared to leave, when the shopkeeper asked, "Would you mind telling me where you got it? The sword?"

"It was a gift from Lord Orochimaru. It's a mate to his sword, Kusanagi."

All color drained from the man's face. "Get out," he growled threateningly.

Sasuke had expected the reaction. He coolly eyed him and left without a word. As soon as he was outside, the man locked the door and hung a 'closed' sign in the window. "Swindler," Sasuke chuckled. He deposited his new arsenal into his weapons pouch and headed back to the Hokage Residence building.

With his stomach and supplies filled, his task at hand in Konoha was nearly complete; all that remained was acquiring information on Akatsuki's location. As much as he tried to romanticize how effortless that chore would be, he very well knew it might potentially be as impossible as keeping a pond's surface smooth after tossing a pebble into its depths. Konoha was the most influential and powerful military-wise of the Five Great Shinobi Countries; if any of the higher-ups knew Akatsuki's location within the lands they would've already attacked the organization. Gossip in taverns - although plentiful - had to be taken with a grain of salt, for even if the stories were grounded in actuality, many times the informants had so grotesquely diluted the facts to either cast light upon themselves, or simply due to being inebriated.

He cracked his neck. He trusted he'd find a way no matter what and mulled on it no longer. The time would come… and he knew it was approaching.

An embedded sensation prickled his muscles as he traversed the twisting streets of the village. Although he'd been absent from Konoha for years, his body was already craving what it had lacked since leaving….

He turned left, indulging his legs' desire to tread the ingrained path they used to travel day in and day out during his childhood. His footsteps swallowed all sounds of the village in his ears, and an ethereal sense drifted over him, as though he were watching himself from afar.

He neared the ex-Uchiha quarter, once the jewel of Konoha. Already, he noted the subtle changes surrounding the area, such as the decrease in businesses and resident habitation. He knew no one in their right mind would willingly want to dwell in the area, not with its blood-soaked history. The zone's demolition had been forbidden by the Konoha's elders, who had deemed it a historical landmark built by the second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. People had option to purchase and reside in any of the buildings therein the fenced compound, but few, if any, offers had ever been made.

A sickening shallowness tightened across Sasuke's chest upon viewing the derelict shell of the formerly powerful district. Ravens perched upon a handful of the structures, and their grating caws cut through the sky. He hesitated before the entrance gate of the sector, which was emblazoned with the Uchiha family crest. Despite Orochimaru teachings that casting away any and all fears was essential for defeating Itachi, Sasuke felt his doubts rising like foaming stomach acid. Now that he'd been gone for so many years he didn't think he had the courage to face this village that was an embodiment of his ineptitude to match Itachi's strength.

He rested his hand on the entrance, feeling the weathered stone against his palm and cursing the fear that kept him at bay, when he caught glimpse of a small cut on his knuckle; he'd gotten it during his battle with Orochimaru no more than four days earlier. His resolve hardened like steel and he tightened his hand into a resolute fist. He'd just brought the monstrous Sannin's supremacy to an end; how could even a shard of apprehension linger in his heart now concerning revisiting his past? He withdrew his hand and crossed the threshold into the silent city.

It was as though he'd stepped into a sliver of time that had been suspended years back, and although he had originally been a part of it, he felt like he didn't belong now. The atmosphere's ambiance deceptively gave the impression there was nothing unusual about the village. Sasuke recalled the preserved animal specimens that beset the shelves of Orochimaru's research labs… how it appeared as though the formaldehyde-encased reptiles were alive, sleeping peacefully in their fluid-filled dreamscapes, and would snap open their eyes at any moment. This city was no different in its illusory ordinariness, which looked as if it would give way to bustling inhabitants, prosperity, and happiness.

The sensory stimuli of everything bombarded his brain: the Naka River running through the town, the Uchiha senbei bakery once owned by his aunt and uncle, the narrow streets. The telltale indicators of a ghost town were the overgrowths of shrubbery and the weatherworn noren that hung from shop entrances. Silvery fish swam through the Naka waterway, reflecting small patches of sunlight off their scales. Sasuke gulped the thickening saliva in his throat – so much had changed, and simultaneously, hadn't.

Outside the fence a small group of children ran down the street, kicking a ball rowdily. With a mighty kick, one of the boys inadvertently sent the ball flying into the entrance of the bygone Uchiha sector. The children fell gravely quiet. "Go get the ball, stupid," one of the older boys hissed at the instigator.

"N-no way – I'm not going in there," he nervously replied. "My mom said it's haunted."

They forcefully elected a volunteer with a round of jan ken pon; the loser grovelled with the others that he didn't want to retrieve it. Just then, they noticed Sasuke in the prohibited zone.

He faintly detected the voices of the children behind him then felt something gently bump into his leg. He glanced down and saw the shiny red plastic ball resting against his foot.

"Hey, mister!" one of the youngsters called, guardedly standing a few meters away from the entrance. "Can you throw that back to us?"

He turned around and looked at their grinning faces. He then perused the ball again; without a word, he continued walking farther into the dead sector, bestowing their cries of objection as much attention as he was to insects skittering across the dirt at his feet.

His meandering was not random; since yielding to his desire to once more walk the routes of his childhood, his primary destination was his old house. Even with the years following the Uchiha extermination, he resided in his original room until he was moved to the Ninja Academy dorms after the suicide attempt. He rationalized with himself that staying there even after the murders was because it was a perfectly good shelter despite being a blood-steeped crime scene. He claimed that witnessing his family members' bodies strewn about when he was seven had numbed him to fear of death, so he had no reason to abandon the house. In reality, he'd remained in the ghost village, waking to silent streets and falling asleep to tomb-like quiet, because he felt it was his burden to bear the guilt of surviving his brother's rampage.

Stepping over an unkempt azalea bush that overflowed on the path, Sasuke's blood gelled when he realized he was near his old home. He told himself he had nothing to fear, but he knew returning would be akin to confronting a person one tries to forget by casting them deep into the recesses of their memory.

"Just like Naruto," he reflected aloud. After the ugly incident at the Valley of the End, Sasuke never once thought about Naruto again… about whether or not he'd survived, the extent of his injuries, or his mental anguish concerning Sasuke's absent.

He came to a halt in the middle of a wide street. The frogs' croaking in the river's waterweeds mingled with the ghostly songs of cicadas like runny watercolors, ringing eerily all around him. He summoned his courage and looked left.

There stood his childhood home, the two-storied traditional estate. It had fallen into disrepair; many of the roof's tiles were broken, and the once-manicured garden's foliage had reverted to an undomesticated appearance in the form of thick shrubs. He sensed a wave of remorse sweep over him in permitting the dwelling to fall into such a derelict state, for the edifice was symbolic to him in that if he preserved it, he was preserving his family's legacy and his need to avenge them. He couldn't deny he was apprehensive to go inside, for he'd have to confront his past – no, his failures – once again.

He pushed open the rusted gate and slipped into the overgrown yard. The decorative ponds had all but dried up, and years of fallen leaves lay decaying around the bases of the trees. His eyes flickered over to the spot on the fence surrounding the estate, and he saw it, still there after all those years… the Uchiha crest Itachi had defaced when he severed his ties with their family.

He stepped up on the covered porch and slid open the shouji entryway. Dead brittle insects lay in the sliding door's warped track. At once, the reminiscent smell of his childhood wafted under his nose mixed with the mustiness of dust. He cast his eyes over the area, refamiliarizing himself with the past. Light crept in the filmy windows, radiating an otherworldly glow in the space, while strands of airy cobwebs billowed in the ceiling's corners. As though at a wake, he made as little noise as possible as he stepped into the next room. He tried ignoring the large patch of discoloration marring the floor, but the fear swelled against his ribcage. He had just slain Orochimaru without a shred of remorse; how could seeing such a stain reduce him to a quaking child? He darted into the kitchen, panting slightly. The glass pane of the window was broken, glass shards littering the floor. A breeze rustled a water worn drawing pinned to the wall he'd made long ago. He walked over the crunching glass and knelt to examine the picture. The scrawled crayon marks showed him as a child, standing on the bank of the Naka River, holding a flower. His lips crinkled in a frail smile, and he rested his hand on the brittle paper. And then… he noticed Itachi's crayon visage, also smiling out at him. A seething venom coursed through his blood, and without thinking, his hand clenched the paper and reduced it to a crumpled ball.

"You shouldn't do that, Sasuke. You gave me that picture," said a woman's voice from his right; he glanced over. There, at the stove, was his mother, stirring soup in a pot. "That wasn't very nice, you know."

"Sorry," he mumbled. He fetched the paper off the floor, smoothed it as best he could, and re-pinned it upon the filthy wall.

She filled two bowls with the soup and took them to the table. "Come on, eat while it's hot!" she smiled. She sat down and tasted it. "Hmm, I think I added too much salt."

He sat opposite her and slid his bowl over to himself. He tasted it. "It's perfect," he said. "Thanks, Mom."

"Oh, you're such a good son," She took another sip, but something tugged at the corners of her lips. "Sasuke," she started, "what's this I hear about you and Itachi? Why are you so angry at him?"

And for that moment, he couldn't remember why. "He… he betrayed me," he muttered, somehow feeling it wasn't a complete thought. "I've been training for so long. And now I'm going to show him I'm stronger."

"Training? With who?"

"Orochimaru."

Her brow furrowed. "Sasuke, he's a rogue ninja! He's wanted for human experimentation and murder!"

He took another slurp of soup. "Don't worry, he won't hurt anyone anymore. I took care of him."

"You shouldn't take it upon yourself to hunt rogue ninja –"

"No, it was self-defense. He was trying to take my body." He drained the rest of his soup and pushed away the empty bowl. "I had no choice."

She placed her hand over his and squeezed it slightly. "Well, I suppose I should be happy you escaped with your life. You've come very far, Sasuke. So very far. Your father and I are proud of you."

His lip quivered. "Really?"

"Of course," came his father's voice. Sasuke saw him leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest in his usual gruff manner. "You should look into joining the force, son. We could really use your talent."

Sasuke's pride withered. "I can't. I have to find Itachi."

"And then what?" he asked. "What happens after you find him?"

"Dear, don't pressure the boy!" his mother shunned in a whisper.

"But he's investing so much time in it! Is this really what you life's amounted to, Sasuke? Is this why you've advanced so much? Just to find your brother?"

"He'll know what to do when the time comes. After all, this is a huge responsibility for you, isn't it Sasuke?"

He still couldn't remember what he had planned to do, but he knew, indeed, it was important… so much that he had sacrificed two and a half years relying on Orochimaru, and before that striving to attain power by any means possible. "It is. And I have to see it through."

"That's the idea – Uchiha never give up," his father grinned after a moment. "Keep at it and you'll get a carved monument like Madara."

Even though he'd never met him, all Uchiha were aware of Madara's legendary status, and comparing an Uchiha's greatness to Madara's was the ultimate compliment. "I wish."

"We all have to be there for each other," his mother smiled. "We look out for you two boys, and we expect you to do the same." She squeezed his hand tighter. "Which is why we're disappointed in you." Her grip clenched his hand like a vice, and her nails dug into his skin. "You let us die, Sasuke. You couldn't save us! Why?" Her flesh fell off her face in chunks, and her eyes sunk back into her skull before shriveling into black knobs. "We trusted you!"

Sasuke screamed and jerked free, falling back from the table. No one else was in the room. The pot was empty on the stove and no bowls sat on the table. Clambering to his feet, he sprinted from the room, hearing only his hammering heart. Outside, he lost his balance on the street. Eyes shut tightly, his hand fumbled inside his supply bag for his bottle of medicine in sheer habit. He cursed when he remembered he hadn't brought it and cradled his forehead in his palm, waiting for his heart, his breathing, to slow. He felt dizzy. He emptied his mind and focused on the present. He counted his breaths to distract himself while his heart rate fell. He steadied himself on his feet and fled from the sector, regretting his desire for nostalgia. He had to get back to the Hokage Residence and formulate something fast – time was wasting.

He sprinted down the road, nimbly missing other pedestrians. The mansion was in sight, and he slowed his pace. Nearing the structure, though, he heard a commotion; the disturbance was drifting from an opened window on the top floor. He assumed someone was arguing with Tsunade in her office, but then he paused. Didn't her office look out over Konoha? This side of the building faced the cliff carvings_. _

Entering, he prepared to ascend the staircase, when two ANBU Black Ops rushed past him and up the stairs. "It's the top floor, third room at the right!" one said to the other.

_That's my room. _His heart pounded against his ribcage as he rushed after them. "What's going on?"

When he arrived on his floor, the scene was pandemonium: three armed ANBU were milling outside his door; when he approached, he saw four more inside the quarters restraining a man and interrogating him. Sasuke tried entering, but one of the officers stopped him. "You're not permitted to enter – we're investigating," his voice said through the porcelain fox mask. "Hey, you're Uchiha Sasuke! Too bad you were scratched from the Bingo Book."

"This is my room," he growled, pushing him aside.

He jerked Sasuke back. "Why don't you leave before you get hurt?"

"Leave him alone, Kitsune," Tsunade ordered, emerging from the room.

Kitsune released Sasuke's shoulder at once. "Y-yes, Lord Hokage." He humbly dipped his head to Sasuke. "My deepest apologies. We don't know if the suspect has any accomplices - we need to be cautious of everyone. Especially, well, considering your were classified as a criminal just until last night -"

"Don't suck up to me, asshole," he warned, shoving past him into the room. "What's going on, Tsunade?"

"This man was found in your room," Tsunade answered as she stood abreast to him. "We presume he entered through the window."

Sasuke only remembered then he had left it open.

The prisoner fought against his four masked captors. "I swear I don't know how I got here! I was just talking to a man in the woods!"

"He was placed under a genjutsu," one of the ANBU officials revealed.

Sasuke averted his gaze from the captive to Tsunade. "I don't understand – why would seven ANBU Black Ops be dispatched to apprehend a guy who had an illusionary jutsu placed on him? A kid probably did it."

She motioned to one of the guards; taciturnly, he stepped forward and placed a small piece of folded paper in her palm. "It's not this man who we're worried about… it's who prospectively wrote this note," and she handed it to Sasuke. "He left this in here."

Sasuke unfolded the paper with discrepancy and glanced at the message, yet before he had even read a single word, he recognized the handwriting. His body started trembling with rage. "It's… from him."

"Based upon this man's description of the stranger he met in the forest, Uchiha Itachi is the prime suspect; all the same, we're still verifying -" Before she could fully complete her sentence, Sasuke bolted from the room and down the stairs. "Sasuke!" she shouted after him.

_It's him – I know where he's at!_ He was possessed with a crazed delirium – his vision was tunneled on one goal: to find and kill him. His weapons… did he have his weapons? Yes; it was fortunate he did, for he didn't want to delay and go back to his room – he couldn't fritter away any precious time. He was a manic beast, unable to resist the maddening urge that throbbed in every cell of his body.

Skidding around a corner, he passed Naruto and Sakura at breakneck speed. "What the -" Naruto complained, and then he heard the fuss upstairs. "C'mon Sakura!" and they raced to the disarray.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded, barging into the crowded room. "Why did Sasuke go tearing from here?"

Tsunade briefed the pair with an overview of the situation regarding the man and the note. "Then he ran out of here… as you both witnessed," she concluded, rubbing her arm worriedly.

Naruto held out his hand to the Hokage. "Can I see the note?"

She complied and placed it on his palm.

Sakura and Naruto huddled over the letter while he unfolded it. Sakura pressed her hand against her mouth, while Naruto's balled fist quivered. It read:

_I'm waiting for you in the Higashi Forest. Show me how much hatred you've fostered._

_._


	6. Divulgence and Protocol

_._

* * *

_Divulgence and Protocol _

* * *

_._

Sasuke ran at breakneck speed, oblivious to the throng of people around him. He charged towards the main gate, which was shut tight due to the security breach. Undeterred, he leapt on the top of a small building for a foothold, repeating the action on higher, surrounding structures. He jumped from the roof and, gathering chakra in the soles of his feet, landed on the fence and sprinted up the side. He cleared the top, passing Genma, and soared down into the thick forest beyond. "I'll find you," he hissed, jumping from tree limb to tree limb. He would reach the Higashi Forest in an hour, two at tops. He couldn't lose Itachi's hot trail – for two and a half years since being under Orochimaru's tutelage he'd been trying to pinpoint his brother's location. However, the whereabouts of Akatsuki's headquarters was unknown even to the most insightful ANBU Tracker. Now, he had a definite lead, imparted to him by his target. "You'll regret sending me that note," he said, a deranged grin carved into his face as he headed eastward through the dense foliage.

.

* * *

.

Itachi jumped down from the canopy and landed in a sun-dappled clearing between the trees. He had been traveling for an hour since placing the genjutsu on that man with the cart. He had no doubt in his mind the stranger had succeeded in delivering the letter to Sasuke – Itachi's illusionary techniques were second-to-none.

He surveyed the area; yes, he'd undeniably have an advantage in this environment with its ample amount of camouflaging shrubbery and flammable tinder. He bounded to a leafy limb and nestled himself against the bark. He yawned, closing his heavy eyelids. Listening to the birds and hushed wind, he nodded off while reflecting on the inalterable choice he had made, and the inescapable events certain to snowball owing to it.

.

* * *

.

"Why can't we go after him?!"

"I will not dispatch the ANBU Black Ops to find an ex-missing nin who went to the Higashi Forest on his own accord. Do you know how huge that area is?!"

Naruto and Saukra confronted Tsunade about retrieving Sasuke as she sat in her office twenty minutes after he had taken flight, but the meeting wasn't going anywhere. "But he's tracking Itachi! Don't you think that's dangerous? And doesn't ANBU wanna arrest Itachi? He's an S-Class criminal!"

Tsunade removed her reading glasses. "Though it's probable he wrote it, we've no tangible proof Itachi is the author of this note," she said, indicating the scrap of paper on her desk. "I can't disrupt ANBU's operations and send them off on a potential wild goose chase."

"Then classify it as an A-Rank mission and let a shinobi squad find him!"

"Naruto!" she hollered, slamming her palm upon the table. She sunk back in her chair, compressing her temples. "We all want Sasuke returned safely, but I don't want this to turn into a repeat of that disaster when you and the others tried retrieving him before. I'll deploy an ANBU Tracker Unit when we have concrete evidence Itachi did indeed write the letter, but until then my hands are tied."

"Forgive me asking, but why were there so many Black Ops in Sasuke's room if you don't have proof Itachi wrote it?" Sakura pressed with veiled calmness.

"Because about ninety percent of the evidence points to him, mainly the intricacy of genjutsu used on that man and the description he provided to us."

"Did he say the stranger was wearing an Akatsuki robe?"

She nodded. "Yes, yes. But even with that, there's no evidence that this alleged Akatsuki member was responsible for the genjutsu or if it even was Itachi."

Naruto snorted. "What's your deal with this 'proof' and 'evidence' junk? We both know Itachi did it!"

She glared at him. "He is our main suspect at this moment, yes. However," she walked over to the window, "we've nothing with which to compare the handwriting. The only letter ANBU possesses that possibly shows his penmanship is a suicide note purportedly written by Uchiha Shisui."

His cerulean eyes widened. "Purportedly'? And who's Uchiha Shisui?"

"His cousin. Shisui was in the Konoha Military Police Force years ago, while Itachi was the captain of the ANBU squad. One day, Shisui was found dead in the Naka River with a suicide note in his pocket." She returned to her desk and lowered herself. "Out of everyone who knew him, nobody could figure out why he'd take his own life, so foul play was assumed."

"Itachi was a suspect?" Sakura whispered.

"Yes. The Police Force tried indicting him, but they weren't able to collect any substantial evidence in the short time between that and…."

"The slaughter?" Naruto interjected.

She nodded. "In murdering his clan, he annihilated any and all employees of the Konoha Military Police. Since it had been an Uchiha organization, nobody resurrected the force, and ANBU took over their duties. Based on the records ANBU collected from the Konoha Police Station after the massacre, there had been an important meeting in the village the night Shisui supposedly drowned himself – neither Itachi nor Shisui showed."

"And… and Itachi could've copied Shisui's handwriting with the Sharingan…" he concluded quietly, insightful to her intimation.

"Exactly."

Naruto imagined the scenario: had he already killed Shisui when he put him in the river, or did Itachi drown the man? He shivered at the thought.

"In conclusion, that is the only note ANBU has that's conceivably Itachi's. Notwithstanding, if he did write it, it's a forgery of Shisui's penmanship, so it's useless for comparison. Also, the note we found today never references Sasuke – we can't be certain for whom it was meant."

"C'mon, Grandma Tsunade! It's obvious! If that guy was under a genjutsu he wouldn't make a mistake with the delivery location!"

"But we must look at all likelihoods, unbiased," she explicated laboriously. "For all we know, the note could've slipped out of his pocket while he was in Sasuke's room but was intended for someone else, or the wind could've blown it in there and he went in to recover it."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable! You're basing everything on protocol! You're a ninja – you need to rely on your gut sometimes!"

Her eyes half-focused solemnly. "Well… it _did_ mean something significant to Sasuke."

"So why can't we go after him?"

"I told you, I can't make any moves until we have a water-tight lead," she remorsefully answered. "If I had one, I would send out every ANBU and shinobi to look for him."

"Granny…."

She pressed her hand against her brow. "Please, Naruto, don't make this any harder for me."

He stood there, processing everything she had told him. He inclined his head and turned to exit. "I just… I just wish you'd reconsider," he said as he peered at her over his shoulder. He and Saukura uttered no more and left.

They walked in bleak silence, thoroughly at a loss as to what to do. Their friend could potentially be dead, and all Tsunade rambled about was procedure. "I guess… we can only wait until he returns," Sakura offered with little conviction.

He tightened his fist. "Listen, Sakura, I need to do something, okay?" He darted down the hall and called back, "Don't wait up for me!"

"Wait! What are you doing?" but he vanished behind a corner.

He descended a flight of stairs, keeping his hand tightly clamped. Once at the bottom, he took a cursory glimpse to see if he'd lost Sakura. He unfolded the note he had discreetly hidden in his fist after he'd swiped it from Tsunade's desk. He evaluated the words, hoping somehow to decode the exact location to where Sasuke was headed. "Think you can run away again, huh? Well, you're in for some bad news," he said with determination. He'd find that jerk, even if it meant combing the Higashi Forest for days.

He detected approaching footsteps and swiftly slid the piece of paper into his pocket. From behind the corner emerged Neji, glowering at him reprovingly. "That's classified evidence, you know."

Naruto feigned surprise. "What are you talking about, Neji?" he asked, hoping his perspiration wasn't visible below his forehead protector.

"Don't play dumb!" he snapped. "I saw you hide the note in your pocket while I was headed this way."

His heart sank, recalling the Byakugan's meddling ability that allowed the Hyuga bloodline to peer through solid objects. "I need to find Sasuke!"

"And what good does stealing the letter do?"

He extracted it and gazed at the message. "It's the only link we have to where he's going, that's what."

An embittered smile settled over Neji's face. "He certainly has a habit of deserting Konoha, doesn't he?"

"So, you know he left again, then?"

He sardonically guffawed. "How could one not with all the commotion? ANBU officers have been swarming this place for over an hour."

"Oh, yeah… what happened to the prisoner they caught in Sasuke's room?"

"He was arrested," he disclosed. "He's to be formally questioned by Morino Ibiki."

"The head of ANBU's Interrogation and Torture Unit? Poor guy."

"But that's aside from the point! You stole a piece of evidence! I've a good mind to report you for interfering with an investigation."

His jaw locked with resolve. "And how many times do I have to tell you?!" He brandished the crumpled piece of paper. "This is my only lead! I might never find Sasuke without this!"

Neji's brow relaxed slightly. "Naruto," he began solicitously, "I realize you mean well, but we mustn't interfere with this. This is between the brothers - it's out of our hands."

"So you're gonna do nothing?!" he screamed, his eyes glossing with tears. "Maybe it's your damn fate to actually do something for once instead of just ranting about fate and going along for the ride like a fatalist!"

"I don't follow that creed of destiny anymore –"

Naruto grabbed Neji's shirtfront. "Listen to me: Sasuke might die. I have to save him! I don't care if you think it's none of our business!"

The other scowled. "Even if we find him today or tomorrow, he will die eventually. There is no getting around that. We all will."

"I know," he gnarred. "I just don't want him dying prematurely!"

Neji's eyes flashed with outrage, but the emotion diffused. Pushing the other's hand away, he asked, "And what exactly can we do?"

He glanced at the letter again, wanting it to unveil a solution, but no such thing happened. "I don't know," he moaned, sinking against the wall and gripping his hair. "I don't know."

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	7. Arrivals and Reflections

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**Warning: this chapter contains the yaoi scene.**

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Time for more chronology altering. Here, Orochimaru quit his association with Akatsuki just prior to his coup at the Chuunin Finals.

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"Ninjatou": the swords the ANBU Black Ops carry on their backs

"Dora Yaki": a Japanese treat consisting of sweet, red bean paste sandwiched between small, sweet pancakes

"Kanten": a Japanese fruit salad-like dessert consisting of fruit, sweetened beans and chunks of agar-agar (freeze-dried gelatin made from a blend of several red sea algae)

"Shichi Go San": a celebration held on November 15 for children aged seven, five and three. Parents dress the children in fine clothing and take them to shrines to pray for good health, happiness and future success

"Doujutsu": a jutsu utilizing the eyes.

.

* * *

_Arrivals and Reflections_

* * *

_._

The afternoon sun blazed down over the land, inciting the cicadas to drone lazily. The endless blue sky gave an auspicious appearance to the expansive Hi no Kuni, but in the Higashi Forest a much darker drama unfolded.

Sasuke bounded to another tree limb, nearly losing his footing. He paused to catch his breath. Two hours after taking flight from Konoha, he found himself in this dense copse; it had to be Higashi Forest. He retrieved a kunai and firmly held it in his grasp, ready. He closed his eyes and listened attentively for any sigh of Itachi nearby. When nothing alerted him, he clasped the kunai in his teeth and leapt to another bough. Again he surveyed, but the cicadas masked any sound. Electing to investigate from the ground, he landed on the moist earth.

.

* * *

.

_Itachi's heart drummed so loudly he feared the sound would betray his location. He cursed the organ, wishing it would stop; he preferred death to what lay beyond the door mere meters before him. Just moments preceding, he had been sitting on the floor talking with someone he knew in a familiar room; next he was running for his life and sanity. The person with whom he'd been conversing… was it his ANBU captain? __He had seen, _felt_ his death.__He couldn't understand what elicited the hallucinations; it must have been a genjutsu, one in which he was still ensnared. Heartening himself, he dared a peek around the wooden box serving as his refuge, his fingers clenching the side so tightly his knuckles whitened. He held his breath to catch the sounds of his nightmares._

_He was a bird…_

… _a panicked bird pursued by a voracious snake._

"_I don't understand why you run from me, Ita-chin," the predator's voice crooned just beyond the bolted door. "What I'm offering you is the aspiration of many."_

_Itachi blubbered a soundless curse._

_The locked door handle jiggled. "Now now… I've no time for petty games." _

_There was a protracted hush, when he heard faint clicks emitting from the lock. He crouched lower, glimpsing his ANBU armor in the process; although woven from the strongest silk, it couldn't protect him from this. He searched around the windowless room for means of escape, but the sole egress was the obvious. He'd just recently begun learning the Shunshin no jutsu from Shisui, yet wasn't skilled enough yet to execute it through the stone walls of the storeroom. He cursed his inanity for not studying the escape technique more diligently._

_In silence the door creaked open, baring the monster. "Did you think locks would stop me? You really shouldn't be so insubordinate to your captain."_

_His shaking hands fumbled the kunai he had grabbed from his pouch. _

"_Poor boy… you can't even defend yourself." He snaked his arm around Itachi's waist. "You're trembling." He swept Itachi's ponytail away from his neck, and he licked his lips with an unnaturally long tongue. "Don't worry, I'll make it all better." He advanced on his prey; all Itachi could do was close his eyes and mutter a prayer._

_His surroundings changed. He was ambling down a road in the Uchiha sector, watching people yet unable to process their actions. His perception of reality felt muddled, as if he had a slow poison in his system; his head pounded. People waved at him, but he didn't reciprocate._

"_Hey!" He looked behind him where the voice had originated. "Seems like today isn't your day, is it, Itachi?"_

_He turned to the voice and saw his uncles - Inabi, Yashiro, and Tekka - from the Police Force approaching. "Uncle… Inabi?"_

_Inabi brandished a single sheet of paper. "We've got watertight evidence against you. We ran more forensics on Shisui's body; turns out the wound was inflicted by a kunai other than his!"_

_Through his foggy state, Itachi felt ire brewing. "I already told you, I don't know anything about the suicide," he growled. A burning heat pumped through his veins, tingeing his cheeks with anger. "I've had a bad morning – just leave me alone."_

"_Don't you talk to us that way, you little brat!" Tekka said. He grabbed Itachi's arm. "We're taking you in!"_

_His mind suddenly sharpened at the touch, and it was then something deep in the crevices in his sanity cracked. Before he knew what he was doing, he ran his ninjatou through Tekka's stomach. "You shouldn't have done that," he whispered. He slid the blade out easily._

_Tekka stared at the blade. When he realized what had happened his eyes bulged with terror and he fell dead._

_Itachi heard the commotion around him and felt other arms grabbing him, forcing him to the ground. A rage of madness blistered his skin, muscles, and nerves; his neck burned with the heat of fire, and the agony spread to his face. He threw the others off him with unrestrained strength; a cacophony of snapping bones hitting the building fronts filled his ears like beautiful music. He heard screams from other people, but it only agitated him. _

"_He just killed those men!"_

"_What are those marks on his skin?"_

_He swiveled his head towards a group of passersby who had witnessed the killing, blood dripping off his face. "Who's next?" he whispered. _

_They scrambled away, but it was too late. With a blood-curdling shriek, he began the systemic extermination of his clan._

_Another shift in scenery. This place, too, stirred his memories - his home, perhaps? Why was it so dark? In the blackness he paced as anxiety hacked at his psyche – something was wrong. His palms were slick with sweat and he compulsively wiped them on his pants. He reeked of blood. Turning, he spied a man and woman kneeling before him, but the shadows obscured their faces. _

"_Itachi! Please don't do this!" the woman bawled._

"_Stop this madness now!" the man shouted, but his voice trembled with fear. "Turn yourself into the Military Police! You have to!"_

"_Shut up!" he shrieked. He slammed his fist into the wall, dislodging a few chunks of plaster. "Just shut up!" His thoughts were warped in feverish volatility; everything seemed distorted to him… sights, sound, smells, and reason. A burning pulsed though every cell in his body, corroding his mind in intoxicating rapture. The past hours had escaped him, a hazy sea of blood and blades._

"_What instigated this insanity?! Answer me!"_

"_What will Sasuke think?!"_

_The name cleared his mind a bit before the feverdream-like state overpowered him again. No more… he would end this now. He unsheathed the ninjatou from his back and prepared to strike. He caught his twisted reflection in the rippled pits of the blade and knew the deranged visage mirrored his corrupted soul's true appearance._

"_Forgive me… Mother and Father."_

_The sword fell, as did silence._

Itachi woke to his own scream, but the nightmare had already flitted from his brain. He wiped away his tears, unable to recall what it was that had brought about the unconscious sobbing and shriek, as had been the weekly case back at the Akatsuki headquarters. He thought no more on it and settled back against the tree, his lids dropping.

He opened his eyes when he detected the sound of something hitting the forest floor. It had tumbled from the treetops, accompanied with the rustle of falling twigs. He focused on the direction from whence it originated, surprised by who he saw.

.

* * *

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Sasuke soundlessly slid through the foliage, his heart drumming. _Where are you, Itachi?_ he thought, prepared to strike at any noise.

He caught a flash out of his peripheral vision, followed by a dull '_shunk'_ near his left ear. He whirled back and discovered a kunai lodged in a tree trunk millimeters from him. A second later a pain seared his left cheek; touching it, he found blood on his fingertips. Quick as a flash, he activated his Sharingan and crouched in attack position.

"I missed intentionally," a composed voice stated from above.

Sasuke snapped his head up and saw him:

Itachi.

Itachi stood on a swaying limb, kunai poised between each of his clenched fingers like metal claws. "I'm glad you could make it." He dove at him, launching the blades all at once.

Sasuke's mind shut off. He dodged the weapons by hurtling his body to the ground. Grabbing a shuriken from his weapons pouch, he flung it at Itachi, but right as it was about to make impact he performed the Shunshin no jutsu and disappeared; the shuriken flew harmlessly through nothing.

Something hard struck the side of Sasuke's head. He staggered back to see his brother behind him, his fist having delivered the blow. In a blur, Itachi rushed forward with another kunai aimed at Sasuke's heart. Sasuke's fingers extracted a carbon kunai from the pouch in time and he managed to block the attack.

Itachi eyed Sasuke's weapon. "Ah… you've kept it all these years. I'm touched."

For a wordless moment they stared into each other's eyes, struggling against each other. Sasuke noticed Itachi hadn't activated his Sharingan yet. Without warning, Itachi started bearing down adamantly. Sasuke had to use both hands to stave off the onslaught and dug his feet into the moss-covered ground. Itachi sneered. "You're as weak as ever," and he pressed down harder still with one hand.

"No! I'm not going to lose to you again!" He threw off Itachi's arms, nicking his sibling's hand with the kunai; he swept out his foot and knocked Itachi off his feet. He slammed his arm against Itachi's trachea then plowed his heel into his abdomen with a Shishi Rendan attack.

Itachi crashed on the ground; the limp figure evaporated in a scattering of noisy crows.

"Marginally impressive," Itachi's voice sounded above. Sasuke looked up and discovered him standing upside down on a limb, examining the blood dripping from his wounded hand. "Now it's my turn." He performed the hand signs of snake, sheep, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger in quick succession.

Sasuke straight away recognized the sequence and scrambled behind a tree for shelter.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," Itachi calmly uttered. He placed his index and middle fingers before his mouth and lightly blew against them. A wave of scorching fire erupted from his breath and swelled into an immense wall of flames. Sasuke pressed his back to the trunk and protected his head while the deadly storm of heat blasted around him. The temperature was blistering - he couldn't tell if his skin was ablaze of if it was the acute radiant heat. He couldn't breathe – the maelstrom was consuming too much oxygen. The attack seemed to have no end – if he endured a few more moments of it, he would succumb to the fieriness or die from suffocation.

It subsided. Sasuke remained rooted, dizzy and gulping sweltering, sooty air into his lungs. The trees in the area were blackened, their leaves aflame and curling. Mixed within the scent of burnt wood he detected that of singed hair and discovered the tips of his bangs charred. _He's going all-out. He's fighting with the intent to kill – he's not toying with me._ He was already exhausted. The journey to the Higashi Forest had depleted much of his energy, and his brother's crushing assaults were taking their toll on him so early in the onslaught. He squeezed his eyes. He couldn't let it end like this… not now.

He remembered the Fire Blossom. Seizing it from his pouch, he stealthily sprinted up the tree. Spotting Itachi, he took aim. "Die!" and he hurled the papers at him.

Itachi was blasé. "Hmm… a Fire Blossom. That can easily be rectified." He withdrew a half dozen shuriken and threw them, not at the papers, but between them. The resulting shift in air current forced the sheets to follow the direction of the shuriken right back at Sasuke. He leapt out of the way before the pieces exploded on impact against the limb, tearing it off the tree. Barely having time to regain his footing, he spun back when he heard Itachi say his name. "If you must use Fire Blossoms, at least utilize more than one at a time," he reproached as he fanned out five packets in his hand.

Sasuke's mind blanked.

Itachi heaved them at him and watched as the sticky papers clung to Sasuke and blew holes in his flesh before a fiery grave enveloped him. Just then, a burning log tumbled to the ground from inside the inferno. Itachi frowned and whipped his head back towards a sound behind him.

"All right… I'm through with these games," Sasuke panted as he wove an intricate set of hand sighs. "See why Orochimaru called me his most promising disciple ever!" Chakra began crackling around his left hand, brightening in intensity until his arm was hidden beneath the undulating mass of screeching, hot-white energy. He withdrew the chokuto swiftly, and the length of the blade pulsed with chakra. "Katana Chidori Nagashi!" He bolted headlong at Itachi and the electric-blue charge streamed through the sword and towards him like a lance.

He merely looked at the weapon, not bothering to flee. "Chakra shape manipulation… I'm impressed. Now let me put a stop to it!" He activated the Mangekyou Sharingan and his eye color changed from ebony to hot scarlet.

Sasuke knew it was futile for Itachi to counter– he was as good as dead. "Writhe in Hell!" and he projected a convulsing surge forth.

Itachi bounded into the air and missed the attack, keeping his focus on the other. "Amaterasu!"

No hands signs – he was performing a doujutsu. In a blink Sasuke switched from offensive to defensive and canceled his jutsu. He dashed from where he stood, trying to break Itachi's line of vision. A wall of black flames flared to life from thin air where he'd been moments before, incinerating the ground and surrounding trees in a rampant conflagration. He couldn't afford to touch it; didn't know what it would do to him. His chakra and body were exhausted, and Itachi wasn't letting up – he had to retreat. He threw a smoke bomb and fled into the foliage.

Itachi chortled coldly. "Is that _really_ the best you can do? You trained with Orochimaru for over two years and your trump card is to run away?" He winced and pressed his palm against his left eye. "You coward!"

Sasuke crouched low in the bushes, daring not to breathe and attract his brother's attention. His exhausted chakra and body meant no defense, and going at Itachi just then would be suicide. He noticed Itachi covering his left eye. Had he injured it?

Itachi scanned his surroundings, still nursing his left eye, trying to pinpoint Sasuke. His ears locked on a patch of shrubs. He dashed to the bushes and slashed a kunai through it in a single stroke; a tawny rabbit scampered out, wildly bolting away.

Sasuke pressed his hand against his mouth to stem his gasping. If he hadn't performed that substitution Itachi would've struck him for certain.

Itachi chuckled, his magnifying laughter rising on the plumes of smoke from his earlier katon jutsu. "To have traveled for days, just for you to run away… it's quite disappointing." But he knew better. Judging from the sharpness in Sasuke's eyes and the feral intensity in which he battled, retreat was an impossibility now for the younger. Sasuke was preparing an ambush, and Itachi decided to play along. He walked to the tree his kunai struck and pried the weapon from the bark. "I'm leaving to get lunch," he shouted to the plethora of seared leaves, cognizant that Sasuke was listening. "I trust you'll take me a little more seriously when I return."

Sasuke dug his fingers into the damp earth. He wanted to strike, but he stayed his hand.

Itachi charily pulled his hand away from his face and blinked; on his fingertips was a smear of blood. Tightening his jaw, he slipped the kunai into his leg holster then set out through the burnt shrubs, never once turning back.

When he couldn't sense Itachi's chakra any longer, Sasuke emerged from his cover. "Damn him!" he swore as he tore twigs out of his hair. How dare Itachi accuse Sasuke of not taking him seriously. It was _he_ who was mocking Sasuke. "'I'm leaving to get some lunch'. Is he arrogant enough to believe I'd actually wait for him?" He stopped and bestowed consideration upon his question. "Of course he knows I would."

When his mind cleared as best it could, he briefly analyzed the area's layout. The inky fire smoldered the ground and showed no signs of dying. He ran up a tree, retrieving a spool of tensile tripwire from his pouch. "I'll show him who's better prepared," he growled when he reached a suitable bough. Once more, he scanned the space before sitting cross-legged on the limb and rigging traps. "Stupid," he shook his head. "He's stupid… I'm stupid for being here… it's all stupid." He unraveled the sleek filament and hitched it to the tree's trunk. "He's going to pay… for everything."

His thoughts wandered while he toiled. He remembered an instance from his seventh birthday: he had returned home from Ninja Academy, only to find a note from their parents addressed to Itachi, explaining they had had left for a ryokan that night and wouldn't return until the following afternoon. He turned the paper over, expecting a message to him acknowledging his birthday, but there was nothing. Knowing that their mother prepared delicious treats for Itachi on his birthdays, Sasuke ran into the kitchen in hopes that perhaps a platter of dora yaki would greet him on the table. He entered, yet nothing lay on the table or the counter. A twisting emptiness gurgled in his stomach as he scanned the kitchen, the dripping water from the sink's faucet magnified in his ears. And then he understood the harshness: they hadn't gotten him a present. How could they do that to him, and on his ever-important seventh birthday to boot? He glumly went to the sitting room, slid open the shouji to the porch and exited, only to be stopped by Itachi poking him on the forehead.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke!" he smiled. "Sorry I couldn't pick you up at the academy – I was busy."

He pushed his hand way. "You're always busy," he grumbled, not making eye contact.

Itachi's smile faded and he concernedly knelt near him. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke sniffled and shook his head.

"Oh, so you saw the note, huh?" He watched the koi swimming lazily in the small pond near the porch. "I'll admit, it was selfish of them to go – after all, it's the final year for Shichi Go San." He put a reassuring hand on Sasuke's shoulder, keeping his other arm behind his back. "Don't worry – I'm sure they'll make it up to you this weekend."

His gaze dropped from his brother's, his lips turned downwards in a pouting frown. "They always remember _your_ birthday… everybody does."

He didn't know how to answer this factual observation. Instead, he preserved the integrity of his original intention. "Hey… close your eyes."

Sasuke blinked. "Why?"

"Come on, just close your eyes."

He nodded in agreement and shut his lids.

Withdrawing his concealed hand, Itachi placed it before Sasuke's face. "All right… open them."

He opened his eyes and gasped in delight when he discovered a wrapped present on his brother's palm. "Thank you!" he cried, placing the gift on the porch and tearing away the paper. He lifted the box's lid and stared in awe at the contents: it was a kunai, its onyx-black edges gleaming in the setting sun's rays.

"I used a whole month's salary to buy that," Itachi grinned. "It's high carbon steel, so it'll never break… or at least the shopkeeper said it shouldn't break."

Sasuke hadn't heard him – he had picked up the weapon and was looking at it with welling eyes. "I-I love it! Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled, wiping away Sasuke's tears. And his birthday gifts hadn't ended there. Adorned in their yukata, they had enjoyed a spectacular summer fireworks display while snacking on tomatoes they had filched from someone's garden, and afterwards Itachi treated Sasuke to a refreshing bowl of kanten. It had been, no doubt, truly his best birthday ever.

Sasuke smiled fondly at the eidetic recollections. Itachi had been a wonderful brother back then, surprising him like that. But now… as far as he was concerned, his brother had died years ago… the person who remained was a stranger… a heartless S-Class murderer. _So what if he remembered my seventh birthday?_ he ruminated in bitter hindsight. Because of Itachi, he had no parents to take him to the shrine for Shichi Go San, which fell one month after the slaughter. "Maybe that's why I'm so unlucky," he snickered with cynicism, trying to cancel out the grief that was dredging itself up from the pit of his stomach. He pulled a line of tripwire taut in his teeth in hushed pondering. What had happened? What circumstances incited Itachi to snap like he did those years back? Sasuke reflected on the events of eight years earlier, racking his brains. Had anything significant taken place?

He stopped as it hit him. "He joined the ANBU Black Ops." However, his answer was insufficient, and it frustrated him to no end. "That wouldn't have caused him to annihilate the village. It doesn't make sense!" he hissed. He leapt to a neighboring tree limb with the loose end of wire. _Still,_ he thought, _that_ is _around the time he started acting odd._ He unsnapped his pouch and retrieved a handful of kunai, spying the carbon one that he had used to defend himself from the earlier attack… the exact kunai Itachi had given him on his birthday. His thoughts drifted once more to the arcane connection between ANBU and Itachi's behavior. _Was it immediately following his joining that he changed?_ His mind wasn't focused on his actions as he pondered and he inadvertently slit open his thumb on one of the blades. He clenched his injured digit fiercely. "Why the hell am I wasting my time thinking about it?" he heatedly reprimanded himself. "It doesn't matter – all that's important is avenging the clan." After wrapping a bandage around the wound, he continued rigging the trap. But the more he tried to drive from his mind the notion as to what had prompted his brother's motives, the more it haunted him. "He joined in March; that's when he changed," Sasuke mumbled as he worked. Wait, that wasn't what happened. "No… it was around the time he became _captain_ of that squad," he stated methodically, recalling the foggy memory. "Yes… he had been in ANBU for five months, and _then_ was promoted. _Wasn't it because the original captain left that Itachi obtained the rank?_ He worked his jaw bitterly. _Maybe the pressures of such a high position made him crack,_ he mulled over dryly. Just then, another factor bothered him. Something else noteworthy had transpired around that juncture in time. What was it?

He mentally caught the whiff of rubbing alcohol simultaneous to the recollection surfacing after its years of slumber, inducing him to drop his handful of shuriken. "The hospital… Itachi was in the hospital the day after he was promoted." It had happened one month following Sasuke's birthday. He could see the hazy images: some of the ANBU interrogating him at his bedside, the scrolls piled on the floor, his mother crying. Itachi had wept during his weeklong stay at the infirmary, as well – not owing to sorrow, but - it seemed - to fear. He had kept the curtains shut tight and the windows locked. Kakashi, who was in the same ANBU squad as Itachi, had also been there and performed a jutsu on Itachi to "seal it", as Kakashi had put it. Seal what, though? When Sasuke had asked what was wrong with his brother no one gave him a straight answer and brushed him aside. The tension had been palpable in the austere, medicinal setting. Nobody spoke around him, and if they did speak in the general vicinity, the conversations were whispered. Their mother and father stood vigilant at Itachi's side when visiting hours permitted, while most of the time Sasuke was exiled to the hall or left at home. At one point, Itachi had even requested that Sasuke leave the hospital room so as he could speak to his parents and his co-workers in private, most likely to spare his sibling the upset of hearing anything disturbing.

Yes, that was it! He became captain in August _then_ was hospitalized. His returning home following his treatment was when he started acting peculiar and the struggles between the family members began. _But what was his ailment?_ Up until his hospital stay he had been fine; something must have happened during those months. The only obvious incident was the promotion. He cursed in aggravation. Why hadn't he asked Kakashi what had happened while he was his student? Not only did it directly affect him, but also he was old enough to know by then. He should've asked him the previous night when the jounin was in his room.

Lastly, there was that obtrusive facet that had plagued him over the dragging years ever since the blood-drenched night after Sasuke demanded why Itachi had resorted to murder:

"_To test my strength." _

The way Itachi had hesitated when he disclosed the reason… as though he'd been lying. His answer had recurrently troubled Sasuke, for he felt there was another motive far more sinister than what Itachi had intimated.

His head ached from the ponderings, and he instead gave his task his undivided attention. All the same, something wasn't adding up regarding his brother.

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* * *

.

Itachi pushed aside the noren and entered the dim interior of a teahouse. "Welcome!" the hostess greeted as she emerged from the kitchen. "Seating for one?" Her smile faded when she caught sight of his Akatsuki robe.

He interpreted the fear on her face. "So… you're familiar with my uniform, are you?"

She meekly nodded, her eyes huge and locked on his. She glimpsed a notice on the wall warning about Akatsuki members.

"Let's dispose of this pesky thing, shall we?" He pulled down the flyer and crumpled it into a ball. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I advise you keep quiet. I'd feel terrible if I spilled blood in this quaint establishment."

"Please… we don't have much money."

"Do not insult me, miss. I don't steal money from teahouses – I just want something to eat."

"Y-yes… of course," she stammered. She escorted him to a small table in the corner, striving to appear unruffled to the other patrons. Once he was seated at the intimate corner table, she took his order of soba noodles, yakitori, and green tea. She turned to leave when he caught her eye. _Remember,_ he mouthed.

She nodded shakily and hurried to the kitchen.

Removing his hat, Itachi ran his hand over his hair. It was far and few in between that he ever removed the hat while in public - it acted as a shield against the outside world, allowing him the advantage to observe while giving him a sense of sheltered seclusion; if it weren't for the sticky summer heat he wouldn't have taken it off. Despite the generous collar concealing half his face, he felt exposed, and he effaced himself from notice by staring out the small window to his right. Since childhood he preferred solitude and presented a guarded front whenever he had to interact.

A slight burning on his hand pulled his attention from the window. The blood from the cut he'd sustained in the forest had coagulated in a thin, red line. To him, the injury symbolized far more than a break in the skin; it was an indicator… a deadly testament of his brother's seriousness. Sasuke's fighting had certainly developed – he never could've inflicted any damage on Itachi had his skills been anything less - but Itachi knew he had yet to see his brother's full capacity of strength. His razzing Sasuke's efforts were simply meant to provoke, to stoke the flames of his hatred. Perhaps when he returned to the forest after lunch he would get to witness Sasuke's true potential. He was curious as to what he'd learned from the dead Sannin.

The hostess threaded her way back to the table with the tea. She timidly poured a steaming cup and placed it before him. "Your meal will be out shortly," and she scurried off once more.

He picked up the cup of tea and took a sip. Well, whatever Sasuke would muster up, Itachi hoped it would be better than his meager performance in Otafuku Town those three years back. That hadn't qualified as a fight – it was an embarrassment to the Uchiha family name.

He took another drink and rested the cup against his chin, feeling the steam brush against his lips. He recalled how he had broken Sasuke's wrist on that day; not in defense, but just to spite him… to groom him for this very day. He had been manipulating his brother's actions for years without fail, and Sasuke obediently played the puppet.

Itachi placed his tea down and pressed his palms against his eyes. The past few days had caused a torrent of past memories to surface in his consciousness, forcing him to face ghosts from his past. And the principal recollection had been the spark that later bore the inferno. _Why did I talk to Captain Hebi after the ANBU meeting? I was so gullible! _ He rubbed the base of his neck, shuddering. Hebi had been the captain of the ANBU squad Itachi joined years prior. He had treated Itachi like a son, praising his accomplishments and skills, often referring to him as a genius of the Uchiha clan. Whenever missions required teams, Hebi invited him to be his partner, and everyone in ANBU knew that Itachi was routinely the captain's choice by default. The one idiosyncrasy of Hebi's that made Itachi ill at ease had been his periodic glances that expressed something far more than simple fondness – Itachi, nonetheless, had brushed it off as his own paranoia. One night in August, he had told Itachi that he wished to speak to him after one of the ANBU conferences, tempting him by commenting that it had to do with a promotion. Although he hadn't been keen on joining ANBU in the first place, over time he grew comfortable in the squad, and his Uchiha pride could not resist the lure of leadership. He complied and stayed long after everyone had left. But when Hebi had cornered him in that store room, Itachi's trust in him was doused like a flame in a rainstorm… and his life was destroyed henceforth. After the act, the captain told Itachi that if he sought retribution, the single hope of defeating him was if he could perform Mangekyou Sharingan; however, the only way Itachi could unlock that supreme Uchiha skill was if he murdered his best friend. Then, as a parting gift, the fiend promoted Itachi to captain of the ANBU squad and vanished, never to return.

The woman returned with the dishes of food. After she retreated, he grabbed a skewer of chicken and started chewing, but his memories inhibited him from enjoying the flavor. He had tried living out his life normally for the two months following the incident with Hebi, but his condition steadily worsened, and he'd reached the end of his tether. He had to kill Hebi - the situation couldn't be helped. Itachi's best friend, Shisui, would have to understand. He took Shisui's life and staged it as a suicide, but it was all for naught: Itachi was unable to locate the ex-captain anywhere.

What had started as reprisal against Hebi escalated into a frantic quest. Following the incident with his captain, he noted bizarre transformations in his personality and thoughts, such as paranoia, scattered thinking, and a hair-trigger temper. His mental health was in fast decline and had no doubt the incipient warning signs were in direct correlation with what Hebi had done to him. He very well could have remained in denial in trusting the ugly symptoms were the extent of his new state, but the frightening acceleration of his deterioration suggested otherwise. He knew something awful was stirring in him, and he knew full well he had to kill Hebi in order to reverse his degeneration before it was too late. He had no tangible proof that ending the captain's life would cure him, but he had little options at that point. Unfortunately, he never got that fleeting chance of payback, and the penalty for his transgression had been his family's death. That day… the day he massacred his village without mercy, it had flared with a vengeance – he scarcely remembered all but a blur of the occurrences, each one horrendous. And he had suspected something baleful would transpire that day; he'd been feeling something stirring in his psyche for weeks, and it at last managed to crack the fragile shell that had previously confined it. He and his father had had a volatile argument in which family confidences were bandied as verbal attacks earlier that morning. Infuriated, he donned his ANBU gear and stormed from the house, brushing off Sasuke when the younger asked if he would help him with his shuriken jutsu later that afternoon. But the straw that broke the camel's back had been when his uncles once again cornered him in the street, asking more questions pertaining to Shisui's death. All that it had taken to push him over the edge was Tekka restraining his arm.

He wept as he held his tea, his throes making the drink judder. He couldn't stand what he, 'the pride of the Uchiha bloodline', had become: a common criminal. Yet, he'd had no choice – he had nowhere to go after he'd wiped out his clan. Uchiha Madara, the only other living Uchiha, learned of his plight and welcomed him into Akatsuki with opened arms, not just out of pity, but desire for another strong shinobi amongst their ranks. Itachi agreed without hesitation; the only plausible way he could drown out his misery was if he joined a group that performed such heinous atrocities that his past memories would get buried amidst the horror. Most of the time it worked – he'd lose himself in his illicit missions and shadowy deeds, not to mention the abundant quantities of women and flowing saké. His past had become a quashed recollection, which he had full-and-well intended. He was no longer Uchiha Itachi, but rather Uchiha Itachi of the Akatsuki.

Then, that bastard joined Akatsuki, snapping open the stitches of Itachi's falsely-mended wounds.

At first, Itachi had been unaware that this man was the same person who had corrupted his life half a decade foregoing, seeing as he had used a pseudonym and disguised his face while in ANBU as Hebi. Itachi gulped his tea, reviling himself for not seeing the correlation at the time this newcomer had arrived – after all, 'hebi' meant 'snake'. He did know, however, that the new Akatsuki recruit made him feel uneasy, especially when he'd eye Itachi with what resembled lustful yearning, just as Hebi had. Itachi remembered the man's name from the Bingo Book he was given when he joined ANBU, an S-rank missing-nin from Konoha wanted for murder and human experimentation:

Orochimaru. One of the legendary Sannin.

Scowling, he started on his bowl of soba noodles. He'd never forget the day Orochimaru revealed his past identity to him. Itachi had been reading in the headquarters, when he was joined in the room by the other. Small talk was exchanged, but Itachi held a guarded front, as he was more interested in his book. After a protracted moment, the other said it:

"How you've ripened over these years, Ita-chin."

The book slipped out of his hands. He had heard this man in Akatsuki, but never paid close attention to his voice; only when he uttered this phrase and the honorific did Itachi make a correlation. He'd listened to the voice on a near-daily basis for months five years prior, and one of the last things it had told him was equally unnerving: _"When your body is prime, you will belong to me, Ita-chin."_

Only one person on Earth ever referred to him as 'Ita-chin': Captain Hebi.

He shot to his feet, kunai in hand. "You!"

The other sniggered lightly. "I guess recalling faces isn't your strong suit, is it? I was expecting something akin to a warmer reception from an ex-colleague."

Itachi readied himself in an offensive position, his Mangekyou blazing to life. "What do you want?" he demanded, a shiver of fear betraying his tone as that familiar terror crept back into his veins.

"Oh, don't worry yourself about me taking your body," he purred, advancing still. "Although you're a beautiful specimen, your shell is far too old now for my tastes."

Itachi found himself sliding his foot back.

"Since then I've marked a younger vessel." His lips curled into a snicker. "He's extremely feisty, but I had to assume that with him being your brother and all."

His heart skipped a beat, his eyes wide. "Don't lay a finger on him," he hissed.

He opened his arms wide and cackled, his voice ringing throughout the room eerily. "But it's too late. I've infected him with the virus that makes the soul transfer possible while he was at the Chuunin Exams… the same way I infected you that night after the ANBU meeting."

Itachi's last nerve snapped; he dived headlong at him. "Die!"

Orochimaru speedily performed a set of hand signs and Itachi fell to the ground like a stone. "Your insolence is not acceptable, child. And after I've given you the gift of unimaginable power! Such disrepute."

"It's not a gift, it's a curse!" Itachi panted, trying in vain to move his body; agony like fire paralyzed him all the way down to his fingertips.

Orochimaru propped his body against the wall and crouched near him. "Well, that's your opinion; Sasuke certainly sees it as a blessing," he said, brushing aside Itachi's long hair to reveal a sealed Ten no Juin on the base of his neck. He clicked his tongue chidingly. "You naughty boy – it's been sealed. But the seal looks unstable. No doubt that hack Kakashi's work."

"Shut up! He's not a hack!"

His resultant sickly-sweet smile sent frost down Itachi's spine. "Why can I manipulate your body now if he succeeded in neutralizing the mark, hmm? Doubtless, there have been _other occasions_ when you've witnessed the failure of his, ahem, impervious seal…" his lips stretched further in a warped smile, "…like on that infamous night, you poor, poor orphan."

He knew… he knew Orochimaru was hinting the massacre in that cloying phrase. Unable to make his body obey, he prepared to cast Tsukiyomi. "You'll regret those words."

"How are your eyes?" he asked bluntly.

Itachi stopped the doujutsu as a freezing cramp spasmed inside his right eye.

"I asked about your eyes," he said in measure. He studied the other's vermillion irises with inquisitiveness. "No loss of vision? Oh, silly me… of course there's been, but nothing too substantial. That will change very soon, rest assured."

Itachi's chin quivered, for the serpent's words forced him to confront what he had been attempting to disregard for years. "How… how did you know?"

"I've researched every jutsu. I knew the Mangekyou Sharingan wasn't without flaw. It's a ticking time bomb that afforded you a very tight window in regards to killing me. I had to see the side effects firsthand, so I persuaded you to kill Shisui for the Mangekyou." He howled with laughter, his eyes wild. "Knowing now it causes blindness, I'm so relieved I didn't see the body transfer through!" He regained his poise and stared off musingly. "I must collect Sasuke before he kills the Nine-Tails boy - I can't have a body with rotting eyes." He shook his head and sighed markedly. "You failed to stop me… you squandered your sight for nothing."

Itachi stared at him, mortified beyond compare. "You're a devil."

He touched his chest with an air of innocence. "Me? Why, I'm simply curious about this marvelous world and all the wonders it has to offer. Do not accuse me of being evil just because I have an inquisitive mind - that's plain ignorance."

Rage boiled in every fiber of Itachi's muscles. He lowered his voice to a darkly whisper. "Release this paralysis and I'll consider killing you with little pain."

"Aren't we intrepid to threaten a Sannin? In any case, this conversation is about Sasuke, not your empty intimidation." He traced the mitsutomoe with his finger. "He thirsts for power, and he's willing to obtain it by any means possible." He wagged his finger condescendingly. "So much more obedient than you, I must say."

He shivered with rage, overexerting his muscles to budge. "He wants to murder me because I annihilated our family, no thanks to this damned mark!"

"Awww… you shouldn't degrade it," he pouted. "I only bestow it upon people whom I wish to grant strength."

"No, you do it to take their bodies," he strained through his teeth.

Orochimaru smiled and stroked Itachi's cheek.

Itachi's complexion blanched. "W-what are…."

"I wanted so much to be in you when you were young, my gorgeous Ita-chin. I rue having left the village, truly I do. A pity you never succumbed to the allure of my power. Nonetheless, I'll still have the pleasure of experiencing an Uchiha with Sasuke." His elongated tongue flicked against his colorless lips. "I wonder… does my excitement stem from knowing you're both of a nearly-extinct lineage?"

Itachi held his gaze upon Orochimaru's, suppressing his quavering. He forgot his anger, now frightened for his brother. "Leave him alone."

Orochimaru's breathing quickened while he traced his thumb over Itachi's lips. "You have the most beautiful mouth." He rested his heaving chest upon Itachi's. "I wanted you when I first met you in ANBU. Your unblemished splendor and naivety enthralled me. I ached for your body… your scent… your taste." His other hand skimmed Itachi's knee and settled on his inner thigh.

Itachi's body was unresponsive. "Stop!" he screamed, the fear from five years before rushing back.

"Shhh… be not afraid, child," he purred seductively in his ear before licking his neck.

He recoiled from the warm tongue sliding wetly over his thin flesh and clavicle; for the third time in his life he was powerless against this man. "Don't, Orochimaru…."

He ignored the imploring and ran his hands down the other's trembling torso in pure adoration. "You were the ideal container for my soul. That is why I bestowed you the Ten no Juin that night. If I recall, you were sniffling then just as you are now. You had no reason, it's not as if I hurt you. I just cast a small submission genjutsu on you so I could mark you easier." His cold hands descended lower still, causing Itachi to cringe. He leaned into him and kneaded his lips over Itachi's face, groaning with want. "I had full control over you at that time. I should've taken advantage of it," he mewled, digging his fingernails into the other's well-toned abdominal muscles. "Oh… I'm throbbing for you."

Itachi whimpered when he felt something hard in Orochimaru's pants graze his crotch.

"Can you feel that, my Ita-chin? Do you understand what you do to me and why only you can alleviate this burning hunger?"

Itachi was hysterical. "I'm going to kill you, you sick bastard!"

His smile bared his canines and he whispered, "I'd like to see you try." His lips brushed over Itachi's. Orochimaru withdrew his hand and tightly gripped Itachi's waist while his mouth deposited sloppy kisses over his neck. He straddled him and shed his own Akatsuki robe. "I've heard Uchiha males are known for their bountiful virility," he whispered hotly in his ear. "Will you show me?"

He wanted to spit in his face. "Then why don't you try for Madara?" he hissed. "He's an Uchiha."

"My boy, I'm not suicidal," he simpered. "If I tried touching him he'd murder me. Anyway, he still holds a torch for the Shodaime. You're an easier choice." He suckled Itachi's neck, moving his way down to the collarbone. "Of course, if he agreed to a threesome, I'd be enraptured."

So, it had come to this: the Sannin would triumph over him yet again, the first instance when he bit Itachi; this time he would tear and split him. He couldn't defend himself, and Orochimaru wasn't revoking the paralysis anytime soon in his current avidity. Itachi noted a consideration that would make the impending act's prospect more endurable, and he temporized. "If I agree to this, will you promise to overlook Sasuke? I'll do whatever you want – just leave him alone."

Orochimaru stopped nipping Itachi's lips and peered up between his stringy strands of hair. "How touching. Though your nobility is inspiring, I'm afraid I cannot abide by such stipulations." He tilted his head playfully. "Are you really that overconfident, offering yourself up as a scapegoat for Sasuke's pardon? What makes you think I'd consider your intimacy a fair trade for Sasuke's body?"

Everything Orochimaru had elucidated to him suggested so, but he stayed his tongue.

Furthermore," he added, a touch of sternness in his voice. "I'll make your body engage in whatever I desire, and I'll do whatever I wish to you, _without_ your permission And as for Sasuke... well, you know how Uchiha are my weakness."

"I'm begging…."

Orochimaru amorously ran his hands under Itachi's netted shirt, sliding his hands over the torso, nipples and shoulders, ravenous animalism dominating his golden eyes. "Although I didn't take your body for the transfer then, there's no reason I can't take your body for pleasure _now_, my Ita-chin," and he unfastened his own pants.

It was as though he were merely an outsider watching this nightmare owing to his immobile form. All he, the venerated Uchiha prodigy, could do was beg. "Stop!"

He put his finger to his lips for silence. "Shhh… do not lament. You should be honored; only the select have had the privilege of experiencing my touch." He slid Itachi's pants down to his knees. "Oh, yes… I shall taste you shortly," he gasped, his eyes bulging excitedly as he stared in awe at what he was about to partake.

Itachi's eyes darted to the door in time to see Kisame walk past. "Kisame!" he shrieked, his own screams shrill in his ears.

Hearing his comrade's cry, Kisame rushed in to find Orochimaru on top of Itachi. "What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted at the Sannin.

Orochimaru jerked Itachi's face closer to his by the chin. "Itachi and I were reminiscing about old times. Care to join us? The more the merrier, I always say." He then licked Itachi's lips and plunged his tongue into him mouth, simultaneously grasping the other's shaft. Itachi's muffled screams filled the room and tears soaked his face.

Kisame unsheathed his massive sword, the Samehada. "Get your filthy hands off him!" he thunderously roared.

"Kisame!" Itachi panted after Orochimaru ended the kiss. "Don't be stupid! He'll kill you! Get Madara!"

"Why? To give this pervert enough time to finish with you? No, I'll take my chances," he answered, edging the room with the sword at ready, his eyes never once leaving Orochimaru. "This is my second and last warning: get off of him." He tightened his grip on the bandaged hilt.

"Please, Kisame… don't," Itachi whimpered, cringing from his assailant's cool touch still gripping him.

"Shut up," he flatly snapped, focusing his attention on Orochimaru. "I'm not going to turn a blind eye to this."

Orochimaru appeared amused. "Are you actually challenging me, Hoshigaki? Because I take it as that."

"You're very astute… and that was my last warning!"

He tore ahead, to Orochimaru's chagrin. "How troublesome," he scowled as he pushed himself up off his prisoner. "You're probably a disappointment anyway, Itachi. I'm so looking forward to Sasuke, though." Executing a sequence of hand signs, he vanished, and Itachi's movement was no longer impeded.

For an hour after Kisame consoled him. "I was helpless," Itachi mumbled into Kisame's chest, embracing him with trembling arms.

He had known that empty helplessness two other times in his life: when Orochimaru infected him, and when he went on the deadly rampage against his clan.

Following the assault, Itachi had threatened retribution against Orochimaru; Madara explicitly forbade it, not wanting anything to drive the Sannin away. Knowing he couldn't directly disobey the order, he hacked off Orochimaru's hand instead. The Sannin withdrew from the organization, but not before avowing that he would return after he completed the transfer into Sasuke's body. Already astute to possible betrayal, Sasori sent the spy Kabuto to watch Orochimaru from afar before he'd even left the organization formally. And his hunch had been accurate, for Orochimaru had clandestinely been developing the village Otogakure while under Akatsuki's rule.

Itachi's measures had infuriated Madara. He had lost them a reputed member, one who was not only strong in body, but had the resources to create new jutsu. Already underway while Orochimaru was present was Madara's plan to fetch the nine Bijuu scattered across the Shinobi Countries; down one member, the others had to shoulder the remaining slack. The most dangerous Bijuu, the Kyuubi, had originally been Madara's target as he had subjugated it decades before, but he reassigned Itachi and Kisame's Bijuu from the Hachibi to the Kyuubi as punishment for the infraction.

Yet Orochimaru never did return, and now rumor was Sasuke murdered him. Itachi sipped his tea again. He was next on Sasuke's list.

And the irony was all of this could have been avoided… had Itachi never caved to his father's demands to join ANBU in the first place.

A white pain crackled through his eyes. It had been occurring more frequently, and he could no longer feign ignorance to it. He flagged down the hostess and ordered a plate of mitarashi dango. The sweet rice dumplings had been one of his favorite treats when he was younger; now, they were a necessity to preserve his eyesight. The Mangekyou Sharingan had proved to be a double-edged sword: it granted him the ability to stop his enemies in a nanosecond with the doujutsu Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu, but it ravaged his corneas each time he activated it. He had refrained from using the technique during the past few months, but the irreversible damage from the years abusing it was apparent. His spur-of-the-moment battle move of Amaterasu against his brother hadn't helped matters, either. He dabbed his napkin in water and wiped the caked blood off his left cheek and eyelashes.

The woman placed a tray of the skewered dumplings before him. He bit down on a dango and slid it into his mouth. Madara, who had also overused his Magekyou when he was younger, discovered that something in the mochi flour maintained what vision he had remaining before he took his brother Izuna's eyes as a last resort. Nevertheless, Itachi's previous efforts at sustaining his eyesight would be in vain, for if need be he would use Tsukuyomi on Sasuke later that afternoon, which he knew would more than like result in loss of vision in one or both eyes.

Finishing the glutinous treats, he pulled a sheet of paper from his supplies pouch and began writing a letter. The sentences multiplied, and he ended up turning the paper over and filled the other side with words. He extracted a handful of coins from his pocket and placed them on the table without bothering to count. Rising, he secured his hat upon his head and walked to the exit, the tinkling of the hat's bell prompting a few of the other guests to glance his way.

He passed through the noren-clad entrance to the bright outdoors. Without delay, he summoned a crow and placed the tightly-rolled paper in its leg holster. "Take this to Kisame. And be swift."

The crow let out a single caw of acknowledgement and flapped away into the sky.

Itachi then started back in the direction to where he'd left Sasuke. He knew very well what he was going into: his brother had trained with one of the legendary Sannin for two and a half years, after all, and then killed him. His eyes wandered up towards the sky as he walked on the silty path. Perhaps now Sasuke was a formidable opponent for him.

Secretly, that is what Itachi desired.

.

* * *

.

"Damn! I can't believe he just ran off like that!" Naruto yelled as he stormed into Tsunade's empty office, accompanied by Neji. "He's in town for two minutes then disappears!"

"Let me see the note," Neji sighed, opening his hand expectantly.

"Why? It's gonna say the same thing: 'I'm waiting for you in the Higashi Forest. Show me how much hatred you've fostered,'" he prattled, handing over the piece of paper. "Man, he's so stubborn!" he griped, ruffling his hair in frustration.

Neji pensively gleaned the note. "Well, it's safe to say Itachi indeed did write this. There are no misspellings and the calligraphy is fine, and through common knowledge the Uchiha clan was privileged."

"Of course he wrote it! Sasuke would've used his Sharingan to verify if it was his handwriting!" he said in riled defense. "Sheesh!"

The other scowled. "I was just wanting to substantiate it. I'm not an impetuous fool, like _some _people." As he had predicted, his insult sailed unnoticeably over Naruto's head, and he returned the paper. Just then, he spied Kakashi's treasured novel, Icha Icha Tactics, lying on the coffee table. "It looks as though Kakashi was here earlier," he observed, picking up the well-worn tome and thumbing through it. "I can't believe he reads this smut," he chided as he scanned random paragraphs. "Jiraiya penned this series, did he not?"

"Yeah… he wrote that one while he was training me," Naruto answered distractedly, gazing out over Konoha through the expansive window.

He scoffed. "Some teacher." Suddenly, he stopped flipping through the pages. "Wait a minute… you don't suppose one of Orochimaru's men wrote that letter, do you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Why would they bother? Word is they disbanded after his death."

"So? Just because they disbanded doesn't mean the criminal activity stopped."

"What do you mean?"

"Think: he could've had a fanatical supporter in his group, and now this person wants to murder Sasuke in retaliation. Sasuke proved to be the absolute faction that obliterated Otogakure – that's going to make some people angry."

His eyes darted to the note. "Yeah… you could be right. That guy Kabuto was pretty loyal to the creep."

Neji settled himself on the couch and opened the book once more, though now it seemed the contents had garnered his attention. "Then again," he mumbled, "Itachi could very well have written it, but instead of he and Sasuke confronting each other in a one-on-one fight, in facticity it'll be an ambush from Akatsuki." He turned the next page. "Who knows: Itachi had knowledge as to where Sasuke was in order to send that letter – perhaps Sasuke was attacked by the entire organization after he left Konoha and never made it to the Higashi Forest."

Naruto furrowed his brow. "No… Sasuke shares a weird bond with his brother, and I'd wager Itachi does, too. He recalled the brutal scenario at Otafuku Town. "The way they fight… it's like they're connected to each other." His clutched hand crumpled the note. "Sasuke's so determined to kill him and Itachi wants Sasuke to fight him. I don't know… even though it seems they hate each other, it's almost like they need one another to survive."

Neji didn't acknowledge – he was engrossed by the smut novel. His eyes widened and his face flushed a deep magenta.

Naruto saw this and yelled, "Hey! Did you even hear what I said?!"

"Every word," he placidly responded, his gaze intent on the page that had elicited his strong reaction moments before.

He eyed the letter again with clear fortification. "That settles it – I'm gonna look for him."

Neji sighed and put down the book. "Well, I suppose that means I should go with you."

"No! He's my responsibility - I don't want to endanger anyone."

"What do you mean, your 'responsibility'? He's not a pet… he's human. He's responsible for himself." He started re-securing his forehead protector. "Anyway, be realistic for a moment: how on Earth are you planning to locate him in the middle of the Higashi Forest with nothing but an ambiguous note for directions? I'll pinpoint him efficiently with my Byakugan."

"Yeah, but -"

"Swallow your pride, will you, Naruto?! My God, I've never seen anyone so asinine!" He jabbed his finger at the note. "He is pursuing an S-Class criminal; what will happen if in search of Sasuke you have a run-in with his brother?"

He clenched his fist triumphantly. "I'd kick his sorry butt – that's what I'd do!"

Neji shook his head. "Wrong. Per Bingo Book taxonomy, an S-Class criminal is an extremely effective assassin. Even ANBU has difficulties defeating guys like him." His candescent eyes pierced Naruto's core. "He's not your run-of-the-mill bandit, Naruto. A genin of your level couldn't even put a scratch on him."

"What do you me, 'of my level'?" he challenged.

"Your rhetoric is very droll. Here, I'll explain it in simple terms." He crossed his arms. "You are a genin with a fair bit of chuunin skills. If you want to survive any chance encounter with Uchiha Itachi, you need a jounin accompanying you…" he paused for effect, "…like me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed frostily. "You're an arrogant jerk, Neji… but arrogant jerks can bring up valid points."

He shrugged gloatingly. "But of course." He stood up; Naruto, however, grabbed his arm.

"We can't tell anyone about this mission. Do you understand?"

"It's prudent we at least inform someone of our plan -"

"No." He tightened his grip. "I'm doing this because Sasuke's my friend and I need to help him; I'm willing to face danger." His head fell slightly. "I'm okay with the perils of this mission – I don't want to drag anyone else into this."

"Well, just to set your mind at ease, you're not 'dragging me into this,' – I'm doing this of my own volition."

"But why? You barely know Sasuke."

He displayed two fingers. "I have two reasons: one, he's a fellow Konoha shinobi, and two, I have a score to settle with him."

"Huh?"

"He was supposed to battle me today so we could establish who's stronger."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "_That's_ why you want to find him… to fight? Get real, Neji!"

He looked down his nose at him. "Do not belittle my motives, Uzumaki. You have no right to question the integrity of my reasons, for yours are more bizarre." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "You declare you'll risk your safety for him, your alleged 'best friend'. And for what? He insults you, disrespects you, not to mention abandoned the village and almost killed you. He's grossly scurrilous to you, but you don't hear me impeaching you." He scrutinized him incisively. "Our motivations seem equally superficial and absurd to any outsider but are legitimate to us."

Naruto wanted to argue this, but reflected on it. True… Sasuke and he were very much incongruous most of the time, yet he held Naruto in fixed admiration. "Okay, fine; we're both even. But…" he stared at him beesechingly, "…we can't tell anybody about this rescue. Please."

Neji sighed heavily, vacillating whether he should obey protocol or his concerned cohort. "Very well," he caved at last. "If Tsunade gets a whiff of this I'll never hear the end of it."

Naruto grabbed his hand and squeezed it affably. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"Actually, after this, you'll owe me two," he groused, pulling his hand from Naruto's clasp. "We best be going - night will fall in a few hours."

"Right."

They ventured out of the Hokage's office and down a passage to the sunny outdoors. "Do you have enough weapons?" Neji asked.

Naruto hadn't thought about that. "Um… I have some kunai, shuriken and a couple of smoke bombs." As he enumerated his weaponry, he realized how paltry it sounded in case he and Neji were unfortunate enough to confront Itachi, and his stomach squirmed with trepidation.

Neji unsnapped his ninja tool pouch and tallied his arsenal. "Let's just pray he doesn't find us," he frowned, knowledgeable that even the most potent arms were practically useless against S-Class shinobi. "We'll leave through the main gate; no jumping over the fence."

"Why? It'll only take a few seconds to clear the top."

"It'll look suspicious," he revealed, keeping his face forward while he talked. "The ANBU are on alert now with the security breach from that man who slipped into the Hokage Residence and delivered the note. We have to remain as low-keyed as possible and not draw attention to ourselves. If asked at the gate where we're going, say we're meeting someone from Kusagakure on the main road."

He nodded.

They turned down a street and saw Sakura apathetically leaning against a building.

"Hi, Sakura," Naruto smiled meekly.

She sniffled and peered at both of them, not uttering anything.

He felt rotten. He wanted to enlighten her that he and Neji were departing to bring Sasuke back, but he couldn't jeopardize his requisite to keep the mission under wraps. "We're leaving. We're gonna talk to some guy from the Grass Village."

She stared knowingly into his gaze, breaking through any barriers that hid the lie. "Bring him back."

Naruto's insides plummeted. "Bring the guy back?" but he knew that wasn't what she meant.

"Bring Sasuke back."

Neji stepped forward. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're meaning."

Naruto placed a restrictive hand on the other's chest. "She knows what we're gonna do, Neji."

She clutched her shirt as her eyes welled. "Please… promise me you'll find him and return him to Konoha. I can't come with you – I have to work with Tsunade."

Naruto's heart crumpled; when Sasuke ran away to seek out Orochimaru years back, Naruto vowed to Sakura that he wouldn't return until he had apprehended the renegade Uchiha; however, he'd failed, and his confidence in himself shattered resulting from it. This instance would be different, though – after all, he had trained with Jiraiya for nearly three years and was now a better ninja. He curled his fingers into a trenchant fist and raised his arm shoulder-level. "I'll do it right this time, Sakura. I'm a better shinobi than I was before." He grinned. "And I never go back on my word… that's my nindo."

Neji interposed. "We're not promising anything, Sakura. We'll do our best."

Naruto grunted in contempt. "Aw, you're too much of a pessimist, Neji." He proudly thumped his chest. "Of course we'll bring him back! And when we do, I'm gonna tie him to that post Kakashi-sensei tied me to at the Third Training Grounds to keep him from getting away."

A small smile trickled through her melancholic expression, and she took his hand in both of hers. "Thank you, Naruto… thank you."

He blushed brightly. "Don't mention it."

Neji cast his eyes to the sky. "We must go – we can't lose the light."

He pulled free from Sakura. "You just relax – we're gonna get him back, no matter what." He walked away, followed by Neji.

"What if she tells somebody?" the jounin asked after a while.

"She won't… trust me."

"Aren't you setting her expectations a little high? We can't guarantee we'll succeed."

"Will you stop being so negative for once?!"

Yet an arduous sense of responsibility weighed heavily in his stomach now. Now that he had pledged their success to Sakura, they were entitled to undergo the potentially fruitless mission. He had purposely avoided assuming the 'Nice Guy' thumbs up he'd used the last instance he'd vowed to return Sasuke to Konoha. His crushing defeat during said incident made him superstitious enough to consider that he'd jinxed the rescue operation because he had made a promise with that borrowed pose. Accordingly, he stuck with his self-devised Nindo gesture.

"Are you prepared for this… mentally, I mean?" Neji asked. "Something horrific might await us."

Naruto cracked his knuckles. "I'm raring and ready. Don't worry – I'm not afraid of dying."

Neji set his jaw. "I'm not referring to _our_ possible deaths, Naruto…."

He knew this, yet kept that dark possibility at bay, not wanting it to flit into his mind. "C'mon! let's find that jerk!" He darted ahead.

Neji remained rooted as he watched Naruto run. "You certainly are hubristic about this… how I wish I was," and he sprinted to catch up.

They approached the opened gate, which was flanked by half a dozen Black Ops. Neji's face remained passively disinterested, paying the guards no attention, while Naruto did his best to abstain from sweating. The ANBU, who had been casually chatting, noticed the pair. "Leaving the village?" one of them questioned.

"Yes," Neji coolly replied.

"State your names and purpose of departure," he demanded pithily, pen and paper in hand.

Neji detected Naruto's escalating stress. "Hyuga Neji. And this is Uzumaki Naruto -"

His eyes averted to Naruto. "What? You can't talk?"

Naruto whitened, feeling the vice of pressure tightening dangerously around his throat. "Y-yeah I can talk. I'm just… tired, that's all."

The porcelain-masked man scrutinized him. "Where are you heading?"

Neji spoke quickly. "We've business with someone from Kusagakure -"

"I wasn't asking you," he threateningly interrupted. "I was addressing this one."

Naruto gazed into the black eyeholes, his heart racing. "We… we have to talk to a person from Kusagakure. It's an order from Lady Tsunade."

"Really?"

He nodded brusquely.

"Do you have a note?"

"N-note?" he stammered.

The guard crossed his arms in a contumelious manner. "That's odd. Lady Tsunade notified us that anyone exiting the village must have a letter stating such with her signature. Your story is quite the contrary to our orders."

_Not good!_ Neji thought. "This was an impromptu edict from Tsunade herself. She didn't want to waste time writing a note and instructed us to relay that to any sentries at the gate."

He scribbled down their information. "The fact that it's so vital would be _precise_ reason to give you a note!"

Neji was at a lost as to what to say next. "Please, we can't afford to idle any longer-"

"Oh, I know – missions are crucial, and that's why I'll forego the mandatory letter."

Naruto's eyes lit with hope.

The man shouted over his shoulder at another guard. "Tsuru! Verify with the Hokage that…" he consulted his notepad, "… Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto have her consent to leave."

Neji staggered.

"Yes, sir!" Tsuru flickered away, taking with him Naruto and Neji's prospect of escape.

_Crap! Crap! Gotta do something!_ Naruto panicked, frantically seeking a solution out of the fix. What could he do? Tsuru was probably speaking with Tsunade at that very moment. He visualized her furious demeanor….

The answer dawned on him. "Neji, you idiot!" he laughed boisterously, aiming to draw attention away from his comrade. "Of course she gave us a note! I left it at Ichiraku, remember?"

Neji stared at him, dumbstruck. _What are you planning, Naruto?_ Without room for options, he played along, yearning this was indeed a worthy tactic and not merely a grasp at straws. "Oh, right…."

"I'll go get it."

He turned, but the officer seized his arm. "Wait just a minute, you!"

"No, let him go, Saru," another ANBU interjected. "I want to see this 'note'."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. My curiosity's piqued, too." He relinquished his hold and Naruto jogged away, vanishing behind a corner of buildings.

_That runt had better have a strategy,_ Neji thought, watching for signs of the blonde's return, or that of Tsuru's. _Whatever your plan, hurry up, Naruto. If Tsuru returns before you, we're had._

His stomach-turning anticipation ended precisely then when he saw Tsunade emerge from the road Naruto had journeyed, stomping towards the gate. In her wake was Naruto, chattering wildly. "… but they said we couldn't leave without the letter, Grandma Tsunade! I'm sorry I lost the note. I left it right on the counter after I got my ramen -"

"I don't care about the note, Naruto!" she tersely snapped, staring daggers at the group of ANBU. "Hey! You knuckleheads on duty!" she screamed at them from a distance.

The guards started when they noticed her. Naruto ran back to Neji, leaving the Hokage's side.

"Why aren't you letting these kids pass? They told you I gave them decree to leave, didn't they?!"

Neji analyzed the scenario for a second before understanding. _Naruto, you idiot!_

Saru was tongue-tied. "We… we were simply following protocol based on your stipulations-"

She took a step forward; Neji cringed. "My foot will show you stipulations if you don't move your lazy asses and let these two through!"

The answer apparently satisfied the sentries' skepticism, and Saru allowed the pair passage over the inlaid threshold. Allthewhile, Neji dared not look back for the imminent return of Tsuru. He walked swiftly, trying not to provoke suspicion from the officers; Naruto followed suit.

As soon as they were outside the fence and far enough away, Neji shot Naruto a venomous glare. "A Shadow Clone? Do you realize how risky that was? They could've seen right through that charade!"

"Yeah, but they didn't!" Naruto grinned. "Why do you think I had the clone stand so far away? Even I know ANBU could tell the real Tsunade from a fake!"

Neji was ready to retort the factuality with hypothetical conjectures of what calamities could have befallen them in case the guards had deciphered the Kage Bunshin, but he didn't. He sighed. "It was quick thinking. Good job, Naruto," he said under his breath.

Naruto smiled. "'Bout time you saw my genius… believe it!" and they both bounded to the treetops.

Behind the gate, Saru was repeatedly apologizing to Tsunade, who still stood far from the guards, when suddenly Tsuru and the actual Tsunade materialized in the group in a tyrannical lividity. "What the hell is this all about?! I didn't permit Naruto or Neji to leave!"

Saru and the other ANBU glanced from Tsunade to the clone. "Those little bastards," Saru groaned.

Tsunade spotted the clone. Knowledgeable it'd been found out, it stuck out its tongue in mockery before evaporating into smoke.

A blood vessel erupted on her forehead when she grasped what had just occurred, and she cursed Naruto's name to the wide, cloudless sky.

However, neither he nor Neji heard her. They were already far from the village, racing through the foliage to their imprecise destination… as well as a contingent promise they hoped they could uphold this time around.

.

* * *

.

There's an interesting story behind the Ita-chin name. "Chin" is a variation of "chan", which is used to address not only females, but children, lovers and close acquaintances – a pet name, if you will. "Chin" is a mispronunciation stereotypically attributed to small children and is perceived as cute "baby talk" when spoken by children; when used by an older person however, such as Orochimaru, it denotes a more deranged feel.


	8. Truths and Promises

_._

* * *

_Truths and Promises_

* * *

_._

Sasuke absentmindedly twirled his carbon kunai in his palm, watching a centipede skitter down a nearby branch. His traps were set, his chakra and stamina restored; all he had to do now was wait. He'd been awaiting Itachi's return for over an hour. He stretched and repositioned himself against the tree's trunk, swinging his foot in boredom. _He wouldn't just up and leave… not him,_ he convinced himself, though his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

He closed his weary eyes. _Why am I here?_ he contemplated. _Why am I trying to kill him?_ "Because I'm an avenger," he affirmed aloud. Just then, he stopped fiddling with the kunai. _But… _why_ am I an avenger? Why have I taken it upon myself to retaliate? _He had never quietly sat down with undivided thought and appraised his actions of wanting to spill Itachi's blood, and he'd used the word of his implemented role so many times he was deadened to its connotation. Why had he not simply fled his dead village and continue life the best he could manage? Kakashi could move forward following tragedies – why couldn't he? _Am I just trying to prove my strength to Itachi? Is that the reason? Maybe I really am weak. _His eyes dropped to his left bracer-clad wrist. "No. I survived… it's my obligation to do it," he growled, getting to his feet impatiently. "Where are you?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "You said you'd return! Or was that a lie, too?!" Only after the addendum left his lips did he realize he had thought it, let alone said it. He knew its meaning: Itachi's fabrications to Sasuke when they were younger, saying he loved him so much and would always be there for him. He snorted cynically, all too aware of the harsh reality of Itachi's deceit. "What a fool I was to believe that load back then. I was so stupid."

He turned to walk back to the trunk, but his thoughts scattered when he saw Itachi standing no less than a meter from him. "Never shout when your enemies are in the area – you tend to stick out."

Sasuke stumbled back and lost his foothold of the branch, tumbling towards the ground. He grabbed a leafy bough and righted himself by swinging his leg over it. He snapped his head up; Itachi was gone. His Sharingan wildly swept the area – he couldn't afford another surprise appearance from his brother. He pounced to the ground, holding his kunai protectively in front of his face. Already, sweat dampened his hair.

There… movement to his right. He swept down his weapon as Itachi rushed him with a kunai. Itachi eluded it and lunged at his brother with the swiftness of a cobra.

Sasuke blocked the attack by gouging him in the hand. The blood flowed down his arm, instilling Sasuke with a raw sense of triumph. "I'm going to cut you little by little until your blood's saturating the ground." He registered movement above and glanced up to see another Itachi plunging towards him.

The one before him was an imitation. He slashed through it and it evaporated into a flock of crows. The birds flew up in discordant retreat; all Sasuke could see was an inky torrent of wings and claws that battered him with blinding scratches.

Itachi landed and sped towards his brother, knocking the kunai from his grip and sending it spinning into the brush. "You let your guard down far too often," he disapproved, sending a shower of shuriken screaming at him.

Sasuke flipped out of the majority of the barrage's way; one hit him in the calf and shredded through his skin. Discounting the pain, he unsheathed his chokuto and pointed its scintillating blade at Itachi. "Kusanagi thirsts for your life. You've reached your end," he whispered, his Sharingan overflowing with manic bloodlust.

"You think so?" he taunted, extracting from his robe a coal-black kunai as long as his forearm.

Sasuke took a step, the gravel crunching beneath his feet. "Your blood'll be recompense for your atrocities. Say whatever prayers you know!" and he hurtled forward.

Their weapons met with a piercing '_clang'_, sending sparks flying. They hacked violently at one another, trying to deliver lethal slashes and defend themselves simultaneously.

Itachi feigned dodging to the left, affording him the chance to slug Sasuke in the side. The younger dropped to his knees, coughing. Itachi grabbed his collar and hoisted him eye level, but Sasuke threw a handful of dirt he'd snatched while on his knees into his brother's eyes.

He loosened his grip and stumbled blindly, furiously carving at the air. Sasuke swung around, the sword poised to cut through Itachi. "Perish!"

In a heartbeat, he seized Sasuke's arm and flipped him onto his back. Sasuke landed painfully on the hard earth, the wind knocked out of his lungs. Itachi sliced down as Sasuke's hands clumsily formed the signs of tiger, boar, ox, dog and snake, effecting a substitution jutsu.

Itachi gritted his jaw and kicked away the decaying log that had replaced his brother. Behind him, Sasuke busily motioned rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit and tiger. "Katon: Housenka no Justu!" He inhaled deeply and shot forth a pelting of fireballs.

Itachi's eyes rounded; he placed his finger before his mouth and blew sharply at the onslaught; the fire extinguished. "When your enemy uses fire techniques, it's best to know how to cancel them," he calmly answered.

He couldn't stomach anymore of mocking advisements. "Don't patronize me!" he snarled, throwing his fist at the other's face.

Itachi easily avoided it and the subsequent swings. "I'm not patronizing you. As an Uchiha you need to understand the full extent of our clan's jutsu and counter jutsu."

He stiffened, assimilating his words, when he bore his teeth rabidly. "How… dare… how dare you speak about the clan?! You've no right, murderer!"

He had unsuspectingly hit a raw nerve. Itachi cast his previously composed demeanor aside, his eyes blazing with ferocity. He clamped Sasuke's throat with crushing force and lifted him in the air. "If you want to see a murderer I'll show you one!"

He crazily gasped for breath, tearing at Itachi's hand in desperation as his head flushed a ghastly purple of suffocation. _I can't die… not yet! _He suddenly remembered his chokuto and rammed its hilt into the other's chin, shattering Itachi's teeth. Itachi cried out in pain and released his prey, clasping his injured jaw.

The younger brother sprinted away, wheezing, not losing sight of his pursuer. He could use it now if he wanted… the Ten no Juin. He would win if he submitted himself to its power. _No. I promised myself,_ he reiterated inwardly as he half-stumbled. _I need to know if I'm truly stronger. I can't rely on Orochimaru's jutsu. _He then spied the near-invisible tripwire rigs strategically situated in the area. _I need to lure him over here. _

Itachi charged at him with feverish insanity etched in his features.

Sasuke flashed on that horrid October night when he was seven… the last time he had been mortified by an external influence other than the occurrence regarding Orochimaru in the Forest of Death; it was happening once more. Witnessing that lunacy in Itachi's eyes stripped away any sheets of his courage, and he was a petrified seven-year old again, stumbling over the bodies of his dead family. "No… leave me alone!" he shrieked, cowering on his knees. He covered his head, detecting the pounding footfalls of the unstoppable demon….

_I'm an avenger._

The miniscule voice in his brain prompted him to snap open his eyes with renewed vigor. He leapt backwards as Itachi cut through the air and severed a few strands of his hair.

"You can't win, Sasuke – admit your defeat and die with honor!" he snarled, slashing at his sibling.

He noticed something: Itachi was panting, and his movements were getting sloppy. He was actually experiencing the strain of battle. Sasuke glimpsed over his shoulder, calculating with lightning speed the position of the traps – he didn't want to trigger one himself. _A few meters now,_ he thought, fending off his brother's blitz with Kusanagi, already scarred with pits owing to the clash. He looked back. _Two meters…._

It was a grave miscalculation. In the split second he took his attention off his older brother, Itachi grabbed Sasuke's throat and yanked him close to his face. "I thought you'd put up a better struggle. You disappoint me." It was over.

He knew what was coming. He screwed his eyes shut.

"Sasuke," Itachi whispered, his face millimeters away, "look at me."

He didn't obey – he remembered that horrible dimension that resulted from gazing into Itachi's eyes years before, and he knew the consequences if he did so now.

"Open your eyes."

Sasuke's memory of Itachi telling him to open his eyes when he presented him his carbon kunai on his seventh birthday flashed across his brain, but this time the words meant certain death. He could make out Itachi's features through his lids and perceived his hot breath on his face. It was so intensely maddening he considered obliging just so the unearthly anxiety would end.

"Listen to your brother."

He'd irrefutably hit his weak spot. Although Sasuke claimed he wanted nothing more than to take Itachi's life, deep down, unknown to anyone, he craved his acceptance still. In any case, he very well knew he'd be dead in a matter of moments whether or not he looked, so he'd rather go down staring his executioner straight in the eye. Sobbing a curse, he cracked his lids.

He saw Itachi's mesmeric pupils and his mind and senses felt like they were being sucked through a funnel at high speed. _It's over… he's won._

Blackness.

Insidious blackness everywhere.

_Is this how it ends? I'm destined to suffer defeat at his hands? _A tear ran down his cheek.

_I couldn't fulfill my goal._

Itachi's voice echoed flatly, cutting through the darkness. "Is that really all you learned from Orochimaru? I could say I commend you, but I'd be lying to us both."

Sasuke fell farther back still.

"_Perhaps I _should_ take your eyes like he said-" _

A cry of agony escaped the elder; no sooner had Tsukuyomi started it stopped, and Sasuke was free from the genjutsu. Itachi released his grip and faltered forward straight at the tripwire. Just as his foot brushed against the thread, the dozens of shuriken and kunai rigged at the other end streaked towards him in a blurred, razor-edged bombardment. He heard the weapons screeching his way and bounded out of their path…

… and in midair, his leg hit another trigger.

"Checkmate," Sasuke whispered.

A second round of weaponry fired at him, but he couldn't change his direction while airborne. He smiled at Sasuke's ingenuity. _Very clever._

The blades tore through him and lodged in his skin in a bloody shower. At least three dozen kunai and shuriken ripped his clothing and flesh, signifying his undeniable defeat. _Am I truly going to die?_ he thought as the world seemed to brighten and come to a standstill.

"_I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't mean for it to happen!"_ He suddenly saw an instance from his childhood. He and Sasuke had been playing outside, but the younger sibling, no older than three, had skinned his knee on a gravely road.

"_You need to watch out for him, Itachi. You're his older brother – you have to protect him." She wiped Sasuke's bloody knee and kissed his forehead comfortingly while he cried._

"_I'm sorry… and I'm sorry, Sasuke. I promise, I'm going to be a better brother from now on." He hugged him. "I'll always protect you."_

"I'll always protect you."

With a scream of triumph, Sasuke flew at him and plunged Chidori Nagashi through his chest and out his back. They crashed to the ground, skidding a few meters after impact.

All was hushed other than Sasuke's panting as the dust settled around them. He sniggered at his prey unstably. "Look at the great Uchiha Itachi now. You lost."

However, he didn't show ill-feelings – he smiled.

Something twinged in Sasuke. "What the hell are you smiling about?"

Itachi exhaled happily, his eyes shut. "It's over."

He grabbed his collar and snarled, "Tell me one thing before you die: why did you do it? Why did you murder our family?"

A bubble of blood popped over Itachi's lips as he opened his mouth. "You already know the reason. He infected you with it, too."

A jolt lurched through his insides. Was he referring to Orochimaru and the Ten no Juin? "How do you know about my mark?"

"Orochimaru told me."

Sasuke tightened his hold on the collar, his nails cutting the fabric. "You said he infected me, too. What do you mean, 'too'?"

Without a word, Itachi brushed aside his ponytail to permit Sasuke view.

He leaned forward and peeked, and his mouth went dry. There, as conspicuous as an ink stain, was a mistutomoe. "The Ten no Juin," he breathed shakily.

"He was the captain of my ANBU squad, and infected me the night I was promoted. Do you remember?"

The correlations hit him square in the face. "That's why you were in the hospital…."

"You _do_ remember."

It all started making sense. "And… and Kakashi sealed the mark…."

He squeezed his shut eyes tighter. "He tried, but he'd never seen any curse like it before, so it didn't work."

Sasuke listened with a mixture of horror and absorption. How could his seemingly faultless brother fall prey to the Sannin? His fingers wrapped over his own shoulder instinctively. "Kakashi… couldn't seal mine, either." He pressed his hand against his sweaty forehead to staunch his emerging remembrances. He started feeling a swell of something terrible, horrible brewing inside him.

"Orochimaru promised me a promotion in ANBU, and I took the bait," he reminisced in torment. "I think he cast a genjutsu on me. It felt like I was dying," He turned his face away, too disgraced to look him in the eye. "I just… ran. I had to get away from him. I was so stupid."

Sasuke remembered his own fear from Orochimaru's pursuit, seeing, feeling his own death. Had Itachi really suffered it, too? He felt the keen queasy recollection of that violating sting brought forth by Orochimaru's lips and hot breath on his neck. He'd entered Sasuke via teeth and saliva, ravaging his psyche and left exposed as if naked.

"Orochimaru told me I could only stop him with Mangekyou Sharingan. I was so fixated with killing him that I slew Shisui."

"You… you _did_ kill Shisui then? You told everyone you hadn't!"

"I had to."

Something in his tone rang true, yet Sasuke's skepticism lingered on his face. Surfacing from his riptide of memories, he glared at him. "But it still doesn't explain why you massacred our village!"

"The mark poisoned my mind. It did something to me that day. I just…" his eyes melded from the fiery red of the Sharingan to night black beneath the glossing of tears, "I slaughtered anyone I saw."

Sasuke saw the night and everything that transpired so vividly. He clutched his chest, willing his heart to stop its hammering. His memories returned unbidden of the Otonin battering after he'd been infected. The exhilarating rush of twisted pleasure from torturing Zaku by dislocating and breaking his arms, his desire to wipe out the remaining Otonin, even wanting to lash out at Sakura for trying to stop his assault… if that what Itachi had felt, he could understand how he'd lost his mind to it.

Itachi's head fell back to the ground, and he rasped for air. "Someone needed to avenge the clan. The one who idolized me… the one I'd vowed to protect until my dying breath…you."

He glared at him through tears as a ripple of cold rushed through his stomach. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard in my life! Why would you want me to kill you?!"

Itachi closed his eyes in the silent moment, his lip quivering. "I failed as a brother and son. It was your right to bring me down for not living up to your expectations."

His eyes widened in furious rage. Lifting Itachi's head by the robe collar, he punched his face. "You're an idiot! What you're saying makes no sense!"

His lip quivered into a faulty smile of pain. "And yet it does, doesn't it?"

Sasuke kept his fist raised, contemplating whether or not to strike him again. He wanted to – wanted to knock sense into the fool until any of this was clear to him. But no matter how much he attempted to disregard his brother's disclosure, Sasuke knew Itachi was being sincere. "You… you didn't want to murder anyone that night?"

Itachi shook his head with a pitying smile.

Sasuke opened and closed his mouth, but his tears drowned out any judicious reply. So, Itachi had allowed his brother to live because he awaited retribution for his delinquency at being a sibling? "Then… this whole time… I thought you wanted me to be an avenger for the village, not myself…." His eyes sharpened with dawning. "If you wanted me to kill you so much, why did you make it difficult for me? You never showed signs of surrender!"

"I pushed you to surpass me. It would have been an insult if I exposed my throat to you without a challenge."

"You wanted… to _push_ me?!"

"Do you think it was a fluke that you discovered me near our parents' corpses? That I cast you into Tsukuyomi that night and when we were in Otafaku Town for amusement? I let you find me standing over Mother and Father and showed you the murders to impact you further. I _wanted_ you to hate me… I _wanted_ you to kill me – if not that night, someday later." Blood gurgled over his lips. "I've beat you down all this time so you'd fight back harder. Since our childhood you've tried to outdo me - you're so predictable." He drew labored breaths and smiled. "I knew you were capable of rising to the challenge. You are my determined little brother, after all… Sasuke."

It was the first time in a long while he had uttered his name with such clarion purity. It wasn't said with ridicule or mockery… it was formed with respect. At that moment, the infatuated thirst for retribution that had driven him for eight years disappeared; all he saw now was his brother, dying on the ground, aware of the sibling's blood soaking the area, as Sasuke had promised would happen. "Brother," he cried, gawking at the multitude of gashes on Itachi's body that he hadn't seemed to notice before. "I'm… I didn't mean…."

"You've nothing to apologize for. I would have done the same had I been in your position."

But his sibling's words slipped past his ears in a garbled blur. He had murdered his brother; his role model; his only remaining family; his reason for continuing to live, and his reason for wanting to die. Sasuke's eyes were enormous, unblinking, the tears spilling over his lower lids. He suddenly noticed the chokuto impaling Itachi and madly tried to pry it free.

Itachi clenched his wrist. "Don't be an idiot – I'm dying."

His words held a cruel finality. This couldn't be it… couldn't be what Sasuke had pined for over years of anticipation. "I… I know I can save you. Kabuto taught me a few healing jutsu," he whimpered, pressing his hands against the puncture. "Just hold still."

"Sasuke!" His voice grated the air with harshness. "This is what I want."

He spluttered and shook his head 'no'.

A trace of a smile tickled Itachi's mouth. "I deserve this."

"No you don't! You were controlled by the Cursed Mark when you killed them! You couldn't help it!"

"And so I was, but that was clearly my preordained road. As yours was to stop me."

It was too much for Sasuke to bear. He placed his face on his brother's chest and wept. He didn't care about maintaining his composure any longer; he had squelched his emotions for years by wearing that stonefaced façade of his. Sakura was right: his act of revenge had only accomplished staining his hands with blood… blood that could never be cleansed from his soul. "Brother… please forgive me," he cried, his voice rising thinly.

He felt Itachi's hand stroke his head. "Don't cry."

Sasuke clutched the Akatsuki robe, his face still buried. "I thought I knew what I was doing, Itachi. I was so confident I could kill you without blinking an eye." His breathing eased as he felt Itachi's comforting touch on his hair. "I just ruin everything."

"You don't."

"Yes I do! When I was Kakashi's student I was so adamant I was better than anyone else…" he clenched tighter, "…but then you pummeled me in Otafuku Town. I'm a fool, just like you and Kakashi said."

"You're not a fool… I am," he whispered. "If I had just listened to my intuition and not joined ANBU, we wouldn't be here in Higashi Forest. We'd probably be eating grilled squid by the Naka River back home." Itachi paused, reflecting about how he'd deposited Shisui's body into said river, and he squeezed his eyes painfully. Nothing, not even the childhood haunts he and Sasuke use to stroll along, was exempt from Orochimaru's heinous touch. "Father was so determined I join ANBU simply because it was an Uchiha tradition… yet because of his passion for convention, and mine for authority, the clan met its demise. Practices matter nothing in an extinct lineage." He coughed violently, strangling on blood.

"Brother!" Sasuke panicked. He held Itachi's head during the coughing fit.

He grabbed Sasuke's hand, his eyes wide.

He rested his forehead upon his, trembling with fear. "I'm right here. Don't be afraid!" He squeezed his hand with such force his fingers tingled. "Oh, God, what have I done?" Instinctively, he began humming a song he they used to sing during long strolls together to soothe his ailing brother.

Itachi's chest rose and fell coarsely with every reedy wheeze, and each breath reeked of metallic wetness. He recognized Sasuke's attempts, and he tried singing along between his breaths. _"Let's walk together let's walk together… I feel fine…. I love to walk…. Let's go now…. On hills, streets, through tunnels and soft grassy fields we'll go…."_

As his brother sang, Sasuke could no longer evoke the tune and instead sniffled; it ripped his heart asunder to hear this fading man intone such an innocent song of bygone years.

The coughing quieted. "I'm glad you took my words to heart that night." He half-closed his lids, as though what he pondered upon was heartrending. "'If you wish to kill me one day, foster your -'"

"'Hatred and despise me, surviving in such an unsightly manner as this. By all means, flee… cling to your wretched life,'" he completed the quote. His head drooped, his arms shaking as they supported him. "That never left my thoughts." He dug his fingers into the cool grass. "I lived by them morning, noon, and night – they were my creed. Whenever I felt like giving up, I would think of them. Those words have been my incentive to live."

"And so they were. Nobody would be able to kill me unless they absolutely hated me and wished me to die."

"No! I don't hate you!"

"Don't lie. You said so yourself my words were your doctrine. How would you dwell on them for so long and develop no ill feelings?"

He lowered his head again, his tears dripping onto the blades of grass. "I don't… I don't know what I was feeling. I was angry with you, yet I… I still loved you." He hid his face with his hand. "I wanted to kill you, and I suppose I did hate you." He looked up desperately. "I don't hate you now, though!"

"But you've killed me."

Sasuke couldn't think up a retort. It's true – he had previously despised Itachi with every fiber in his body; he now sincerely felt the opposite. "I wouldn't waste my breath apologizing if I still hated you." Sasuke's face became a pleasantly blank mask. "And all these years I thought you hated me."

Itachi's eyelids dropped. "No… I was inciting you to… exceed me. I knew you've always felt overshadowed and tried keeping up. Your anger molded you into… a brilliant shinobi." He fell silent.

Sasuke frantically shook his shoulders. "Brother?! Brother?!"

He listlessly held out his hand. "Please come closer."

He complied and leaned in close, his body shuddering with grief. He didn't look at the sizable pool of blood seeping out from beneath his brother.

Itachi ran his finger lightly down the contours, over his nose, his eyebrows. "You've grown so much. I hadn't noticed while we were fighting."

Fear grabbing his chest with icy hands. "Why are you feeling my face?"

"I overused the Mangekyou Sharingan."

He wrenched away. "What are you talking about?"

Itachi's breath leaked softly. "I can't see."

Sasuke scampered back on his hands and feet in horror, his brain reeling. _That's_ why Tsukiyomi had failed. "No! You're lying!"

"It's been blinding me all these years." He fell quiet, calling to mind Kisame's plea. "I'm sorry, Kisame. All you wanted was my word."

It was all too much for Sasuke. He wanted his heart to stop so he wouldn't have to endure the torment that was rotting him from the inside. "It's all my fault."

"Stop blaming yourself. _I_ used the Mangekyou too much. _I_ murdered my friend to get it. You played no part in any of it."

Sasuke covered one side of his face with his hand wearily. "And you wanted me to kill Naruto so I could develop the Mangekyou Sharingan and come after you."

Tears streamed down his filthy face. "But you didn't kill him because you have a purer heart than me."

Normally, Sasuke would narcissistically chuckle if he heard such a revelation; now, however, he didn't care. He just wanted to shed his skin and disappear, leaving behind no proof that he ever existed.

And at that point in time they finally understood each other and the torment that had led them to this desolate juncture. Orochimaru… Orochimaru had been the wicked root of it all:

the clan's eradication;

the shattering of childhood hopes and dreams;

Sasuke's hate;

Itachi's nightmares;

their fanaticism to redeem their goals… goals that during their former blissful existence they could never have fathomed they would one day pursue.

Sasuke wiped his splotchy face, hiccupping. Numbness settled over him like clinging film and he felt as though he couldn't cry anymore.

Itachi cradled his head, gazing reverently at his face with dead eyes.

"Brother," Sasuke blubbered, his tears wetting Itachi's hands.

Itachi wiped away the drops with his thumb. "I don't want you to have any regrets, Sasuke," he whispered, brushing away his bangs from his eyes. "Live your life. Revive the Uchiha bloodline, and every night before you fall asleep revel how lucky you are. Hold your head high… have no regrets."

The utterance drifted through Sasuke's ears but he couldn't process them. "Don't leave me."

His lids slowly slid over his eyes and his breathing softened to a faint wheezing. "Promise me something."

Sasuke merely nodded – he couldn't find his voice.

"Promise you'll never hate me again."

Sasuke grabbed one of Itachi's hands and kissed it. "I promise," he spluttered, his lips pressed hard against the flesh.

Itachi's face radiated with closure, and he kissed Sasuke's forehead. "I'm so proud I'm your brother, Sasuke. I love you… and I always will." Inertly raising his hand, he gave him a light poke on the forehead…

… and his arm fell lifeless as his final breath whispered past his lips.

Sasuke was afraid to move. "Brother?" he hollowly whispered. He looked at Itachi's face; the flat eyes gazed eerily through him, and a smile touched the mouth. He shook his limp shoulders. "Brother?" he asked again in amplifying panic. He placed his ear on his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

Silence. Dead, motionless, unforgiving silence.

"Itachi?!" he screamed, jostling Itachi's body. "Itachi!" He prised the sword from his chest, but no blood pumped out from the wound – it just pooled in the cavity. "No! Itachi! Don't leave me!" he shrieked, saliva running down his chin. "You said you'd protect me always! How is this protecting me now?!" He stopped shaking him and the body lolled flaccidly upon the grass.

Sasuke's brain melted into dizzying terror. He buried his face into his brother's still chest and cried… cried for Itachi… cried for himself… just cried. _This_ had been his desire for so many years? He couldn't even understand now why he'd wanted to murder him. Had he even a reason? Yes: to avenge the clan. But why? Itachi was right - the family had placed too much emphasis on the clan in whole, and he'd fallen right into that trap. His sobbing robbed him of his voice and he wailed, his body shivering in hysterical agony. He had told his brother during the battle that his blood would saturate the clearing, and he'd seen to that. His insides rotted with coldness and he knew he was going to be sick. Turning from the body, he vomited on the ground. "What have I done? What have I done?!" he cried as drool dripped in ropes from his burning mouth. He wretched again and the contents of his stomach splashed on his hands. Once more he heaved, but he'd already ejected everything from his gut. His chest felt like it was on fire. He gulped in air, unable to see anything except the mental picture of Itachi's lifeless face plastered everywhere in his mind's eye. He remained on his hands and knees for a time indeterminable to him, staring at the partially digested tomato from his breakfast, trying to stave off shock. _He wanted this – he wanted death, _he cogitated sensibly, though his spirit screamed in sorrow. _Was I so bad for granting his wish?_ Even with his rationalizing, he couldn't free himself from the tightening binds of his all-consuming repentance. It wasn't fair. It had been so long since he'd seen the true Itachi, and the reunion had been a cruel, fleeting blink.

He felt a twinge in both his eyes, and he knew what was happening. Grabbing the chokuto, he angled it so as to see his reflection; his irises had developed the Mangekyou Sharingan, the Sharingan mutation that only arose when the user had killed his or her best friend; it hadn't been Naruto, it was his brother. Therein his irises revealed what he had done to his brother, and the world would know. With a scream, he flung the sword across the clearing.

He remained still for a time, his eyes closed. He knew Naruto was no doubt hunting for him at that very moment and would probably find him. He grabbed a scroll from his weapons pouch and wrote. His tears fell on the paper, mixing with the wet ink. These were words he knew he couldn't tell Naruto to his face. The words flowed from the brush with years' worth of bottled pain. The least he could do for the blonde was tell him what'd happened during the past week.

His hand lingered over that final word, and he knew it cowardly to believe it would atone for all that had transpired. He folded the sheet cleanly in half, and wrote Naruto's name on the front before placing a seal on it that would only allowed the intended reader to open it. He held it tight in his fist.

Unthinkingly, he removed stray strands of hair from Itachi's serene face with a trembling hand. "At least you can finally get some sleep," he smiled bitterly, closing the parted lids. He softly crooned more of the song he had hummed to Itachi. "_Over bridges and gravel paths we'll walk. On cloudy days and down sloping streets, too. Let's you and I walk… hand in hand."_ He planted a delicate kiss upon his forehead and rested his head on Itachi's chest. He was no longer an avenger… no longer had a purpose. He had been so fixated to murder Itachi that he'd never given thought as to what his existence would be like afterwards – the role of retaliator had overshadowed any previous aspirations he had nurtured. His end-all had come to fruition, and all he sought was rest. He'd promised Itachi he wouldn't hate him, and he would live up to his word. Exhaling peacefully, he closed his eyes, envisioning Itachi bathed in light and smiling, proffering his hand from atop a hill. And after eight empty years, Sasuke said it; and he was gratified he recalled how to utter the nearly forgotten phrase:

"I love you too, brother."

And he took Itachi's hand.

.

* * *

.

"Naruto, wait up!" Neji yelled ahead.

Naruto paid no heed to the directive and leapt to another branch. "Sasuke!" he bellowed, disrupting flocks of birds. "Neji! Do you see them anywhere?!"

Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the area. Shaking his head, he called out, "No!"

Naruto gritted his teeth and bounded through the canopy at top speed. "Sasuke! Where are you?!" The pair had searched the Higashi Forest for hours, hoping to spy even a snapped twig that would indicate they were indeed on Sasuke's trail, but they had come upon nothing. To make things more strenuous, dusk threatened to blanket the sky before long.

Straight away, Neji stopped. "Wait… do you smell that? It's smoke."

"His Katon no Jutsu! He must be nearby!" He hastily abandoned his partner in pursuit of their quarry.

"Wait!" Neji hollered. "Reckless fool!"

Naruto caught the scent and followed it, crazed, like a shark to blood. "I've got you – there's no escaping this time!" He surveyed the ground as he soared forward, branches scratching his cheeks. He didn't give the pain his attention – his focus pinpointed on finding Sasuke. And when he did find him, he would pound sense into him.

The smoke hung in the air thickly, burning his lungs. He could no longer detect Neji in his wake amongst the thick tangle of shrubbery. "C'mon, c'mon, I know you're close."

There. He saw something white on the forest floor, sharp in contrast to the plethora of green and black. Without thinking, he backtracked and leapt down to the object. "Gotcha," he grinned, recalling Sasuke's white shirt. He landed agilely, but was puzzled by what he saw.

Lying on the grass, their faces illuminated by sunlight, were Sasuke and Itachi. Naruto automatically grabbed his kunai and held it ready, anticipating Itachi to attack, but nothing happened. Swallowing, he stepped closer.

They appeared to be sleeping. Sasuke's head rested on his brother's chest and he lay curled against him. A dragonfly landed on Sasuke's eyelashes, sunning its glassy wings. The blood soaking Itachi's face, the crimson-coated chokuto, and the charred, smoldering trees broke the illusion of tranquility; Naruto could only imagine what chaos had transpired there shortly before. His eyes bugged when he understood. "Itachi's dead… Sasuke killed him." He clenched the kunai tighter, his hand to trembling. Though Itachi had been an S-Class criminal, Naruto couldn't help but experience a shred of pity, and he bowed his head in acknowledgement of the fallen Konoha shinobi. He couldn't understand Sasuke's motivation for sleeping near his brother when only the day before he'd maintained rancor for his sibling. Naruto saw the dried tear tracks on his face and wondered if they were from remorse. "Sasuke," he whispered. "Wake up. It's over." He waited for him to stir. "Sasuke," he said a little louder.

He continued to sleep.

Naruto grabbed his arm and shook it gently. "Wake up."

No response.

His heart pounded with foreboding – something wasn't right. He touched Sasuke's face, but at once his hand recoiled by what he felt:

the skin was cool like clay. Dead.

"Sasuke!" he screamed in fright, lifting him up. Sasuke's lifeless arms were tight with the onset of rigor mortis. The coldness in Naruto's hand was nauseating and he pulled away. His thoughts were lost… blank. "Sasuke," he breathed, staring at his expired comrade. His eyes swept over the body for any fatal wounds. He couldn't be dead – he was just alive a few hours before, running past him and Sakura near Tsunade's office. Tears welled in his eyes uncontrollably as the truth sunk in and infiltrated his denial. "You never answered me when I asked what was going on, creep," he seethed. "Sure, Old Lady Tsunade told me and Sakura, but it would've been nice if you'd said something." Livid, he gripped Sasuke's shirtfront and jerked him to his face. "You're so stubborn! Why are you like that?!"

Sasuke's head flopped downward, scaring away the dragonfly.

Blubbering, Naruto lowered him and sobbed, his cries traveling through the humid air alongside the plumes of smoke. How could this have happened? Sasuke seemed so immune from death, and Naruto had never even considered this day would come. "You could've asked us for help - you didn't need to do this on your own! You always wanted the spotlight on yourself! You jerk… you stupid jerk!" Yet he was aware Sasuke had to handle it himself; after all, the confrontation had purely been between the siblings.

The commotion of snapping branches announced Neji's arrival. "I hope you're satisfied, Naruto. We're probably off course now." As soon as he finished talking he noticed the brothers and instantly paled. "They have no chakra flow. They're dead. That's why I couldn't detect them."

Naruto couldn't seem to find his voice. "How did he die?" he barely managed.

Neji knelt near Sasuke, scanning the body for an unseen wound. "Not from anything external. His only injuries are scrapes, burns around his mouth, and a severed gastrocnemius muscle." He looked for any internal trauma. "He had high blood pressure?" he mumbled quietly.

Naruto ground his teeth to stave off the tears. "How the hell would I know that? I just saw him for a few minutes yesterday!"

"It looks like he'd had the condition for years. His arteries are damaged." His eyes roved over Sasuke's heart. "Heart failure," he mumbled. "But not from over-exertion – it just gave out."

The words looped in Naruto's head like a jeering taunt. He reached into his pocket and extracted Sasuke's scratched forehead protector. "He finally got his revenge, but to what end?" He tied the band around Sasuke's forehead. "You're still a part of Konoha, even if you ran away from it, Sasuke." It had been so long since he'd donned the shinobi headband, yet it looked so natural on him. "I've been looking after it all these years – now I can finally give it back to you and get it off my conscience." He then spotted the paper in Sasuke's hand and pulled it free; it was sealed and addressed to him, but he was in no frame of mind to read it.

Neji glanced at Itachi. "So… this is the S-Class Uchiha Itachi, monster of Konoha. I never thought anyone would take him down other than the ANBU."

Naruto shot up and hit him in the face. "Don't talk that way about him! Show some respect!"

He pressed his hand against his throbbing cheek. "I suppose I did deserve that," he reassessed flatly. "I apologize for speaking so inconsiderately before his corpse." He analyzed the older sibling. "His injuries are worse. He was impaled, and I'm hazarding this chokuto was the weapon used." He crouched close to the body. "He has lacerations on his body, fractured jaw and broken teeth from what resembles blunt force trauma. Sasuke must have been duly determined to stop him."

A stray tear dripped off his chin.

Neji blanched at a gruesome discovery. "His… his corneas are corroded." His trepidation seeped through, despite his stolid pretense. "My God… what did you do to him, Sasuke?"

"He didn't do anything," Naruto answered flatly. "Kakashi told me and Sakura that Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan was blinding him."

"His own kekkei genkai? How cruelly ironic."

They stood, muted, not certain what their next move should be. "I guess we need to relay word back to Tsunade so she can send Tracker ninja out here to retrieve the bodies," Neji suggested.

Naruto flashed on what Kakashi had told Team 7 about Tracker ninja on their mission to protect Tazuna the bridge builder. "No! They'll dissect them because they were rogue."

Neji stared at him disbelievingly. "How do you suggest we go about it, then - just leave them here? This is standard practice."

He tightened his fist, backed against a figurative wall. "I know. I know!" He hid his face from the wave of hot tears spilling down his cheeks. "They deserve better than that, though."

They heard advancing voices. "Over here!" one shouted. A half dozen ANBU Tracker ninja pounced down from the towering branches, while Tsunade leapt into the clearing. "There you two are!" she hollered, crossing her arms heatedly. "You had no right to take matters into your own hands and leave!"

"Lady Tsunade, how did you find our location?" Neji stammered.

She snorted a harsh guffaw. "A Tracker squadron and the note, obviously. Speaking of," she expectantly held out her hand.

Naruto forfeited the crumbled paper he'd taken from her office.

"I suspected something when I noticed you, Naruto, and the note missing. I deployed these Trackers to find you both before anything happened."

Neji bowed deeply in ignominy. "My apologies, Lady Tsunade. I had knowledge of Naruto's thievery of the note, but I didn't stop him. I accept full responsibility for this infraction."

"As a jounin, I expected higher of you." She distractedly peered to her right and spied the bodies. Color drained from her fair complexion, making her almost pure white. "Dear God," she whispered, her limbs trembling. She saw the blood underneath Itachi and gripped her vest front tightly.

"Itachi died of massive blood lose resulting from puncture of the thoracic aorta. Sasuke's cause of death was heart failure," Neji stated somberly.

She steadied her breath, charily walking towards the brothers. "Sasuke, you fool. Why'd you go after him?" Her tears fell like glass beads and splashed on Sasuke's foot, the agonizing memories of her brother Nawaki and fiancé Dan resuscitated from the bottom of her soul.

The six masked men dashed past Naruto and Neji to where the bodies lay. They moved Sasuke's corpse a few meters away. The team then returned to Itachi, wordlessly opened their cases equipped with scalpels, glass vials and scrolls, and knelt beside him.

"No!" Naruto screamed, tearing past Neji. "Don't touch him!"

The Hokage held up her hand to the Trackers to halt. "We have to erase any evidence of Itachi's existence," she stated tolerantly. "His body holds jutsu techniques and the Sharingan," she halfheartedly explained, as though rehearsing a script. "If an enemy nation were to somehow seize his remains, they would be able to exploit those secrets and use them against us."

"Yeah?! Were you planning to let those ANBU goons cut up Sasuke? He has a Sharingan, too! What about Neji here? Are you going to erase evidence of everyone?"

She exhaled despairingly and squeezed his shoulder. "We're doing this because Itachi was part of Akatsuki. Any new techniques he developed would've been witnessed by other shinobi and noted if he had stayed in Konoha. However, because of his abandonment we can't be certain as to what skills and jutsu he acquired."

His body quivered with rage. "So, are you gonna dissect Sasuke or not?"

"No. He'll just have a funeral."

"So why doesn't Itachi deserve better? Sasuke was a missing nin too, and he studied with Orochimaru, but you're treating him differently." His lip quivered. "Why does Itachi have to be butchered here in the woods?" He walked over to the bodies and peered down at their restful faces. "Itachi did some terrible things, but he's Sasuke's brother and was one of the last Uchiha. Let his death be dignified – give him a proper funeral, too."

"Traditional Konoha funerals include cremation of the corpse," Neji brought to light. "If they're burnt to ashes nobody can decipher any secrets from that."

One of the Trackers shifted. "We await your orders, Lord Hokage."

She gazed from the officers, to the brothers, and then to Naruto and Neji. "Bring the remains back to Konoha, intact," she resigned finally.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," they replied, returning the scalpels to the cases. Then, three to a brother, they swaddled the bodies in sheets, hoisted them and set off at once back to the village, grabbing the chokuto before they left.

Naruto stared at the blood-drenched ground long after Sasuke and Itachi had been removed. "This means a lot to me… and them. Thank you."

She patted his back. "I don't know what sparked your change of heart concerning Itachi, but I'll honor it." She wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Besides… I know how important sibling bonds are." She glanced at the crystal sliver necklace adorning his neck and beamed.

He rested his weary head on her shoulder, hoping that he'd awaken from this terrible dream, yet insightful enough to know it was not possible.

.

* * *

.

The journey back to the village was dismal. Nobody spoke as they leapt, racing the thick sea of dusk encroaching upon them. The ANBU Trackers had long since out-paced Naruto, Neji and Tsunade, ensuring that the trio wouldn't have to see the cadavers.

Naruto felt frozen… physically, mentally, spiritually. He closed his eyes, praying that when he opened them it would be afternoon, earlier than when he and Neji originally left, thus guaranteeing they'd intervene the brothers; however, every time he peeked it was darker.

Thunder rumbled overhead and a downpour unleashed itself. He didn't even feel the wetness drenching his clothes – only guilt and irresolution. Why hadn't he stopped Sasuke that morning? It was just like what happened at the Valley of the End: Naruto had attempted to open Sasuke's disillusioned eyes about embarking to seek out Orochimaru, but it proved unfruitful. He gritted his teeth while tears ran down his face. At least back then he did _something_ by debating with him, followed by a fight when he would not listen to reason; and even though Sasuke had taken flight, he eventually returned to Konoha, if only for a couple of days. This time, however, Naruto said nothing in the hall, and as a result, Sasuke would never come back.

No… he _was_ returning to the village… for his funeral.

Naruto's shoulders heaved with sobs and he clutched the scar Sasuke left when he had thrust his arm through his chest at the Valley of the End. It was his entire fault – Sasuke was dead because of him. If only they had left earlier and not waited for Tsunade's answer, or hadn't been detained by the guards at the gate. Neji said the brothers had been dead for a while, but still, without the distractions, could they have gotten there in time to stop it?

He flashed on Sakura.

Would he have to break the heart-shattering news, or would she see the covered bodies as ANBU transported them back to the village? He squeezed his fist in anguish, drawing blood. He had failed her yet again… he couldn't rescue Sasuke, despite being a stronger ninja now. He felt physically sick. How would he tell her… how could he possess the backbone to look her straight-on deliver the absolute disclosure?

At that point, he remembered the evening before. _No, that's a lie,_ he thought. _I did try to stop him from finding Itachi – both Sakura and I had._ They'd begged him not pursue his brother, yet he didn't listen. "No… I can't take the blame for this. I can't," he mumbled, yet he had no confidence in his words.

He heard rustling leaves beside him as he bounded forward. "Sasuke!" he cried happily, not thinking on his actions. His smile vanished when he recognized it was Neji. And he knew, right then and there, that Sasuke was gone. Never again would they go on missions as the proud Team 7; no longer would they get in arguments over trivial things and strive to contend with each other in superiority; no longer would he hear 'Usuratonkachi', the insult he once hated but would now give his arm and leg to hear uttered once more by the Uchiha. Team Kakashi was a cold, bitter substitute for their original group… their original family.

His brother figure.

His competitor.

His adversary.

His friend.

Gone… forever.

"We… did everything we could, right?" he asked Neji quietly amidst free flowing tears, doubtful of all his actions, positive that the current calamity trickled down from a seemingly insignificant act he'd performed, possibly even earlier that month or year.

The jounin nodded, pushing his wind-swept hair from his face. "This was foreseeable. Nothing we did could've infringed." He jumped to another limb. "I told him that today."

Naruto's deadened eyes snapped open. "You… you told him we shouldn't interfere?"

Neji leapt off another limb in hush before nodding.

Naruto lunged at him before the final word left his lips, and they both hurtled towards the rain-soaked ground. "Bastard!" Naruto shrieked, his body emitting red chakra. "You killed him!" He raised his clawed hand above his head and sliced down through the air. He saw not a comrade, but an enabler.

Neji blocked the attacking arm and rammed his palm against the other's chin while they plummeted. Naruto flew back and crashed on the ground, wasting no time to rush his perceived foe, the crimson glow swirling around him like writhing serpents before it formed into the Demon Fox's Cloak.

Neji didn't waste his time trying to reason with him; he bounded into the thick covering of leaves as Naruto covered the distance between them in a flash.

Naruto slashed his arm through the greenery but didn't hit his target. His carmine eyes wildly roved the area for any sign of Neji. "You killed him… you told him to throw away his life!" A second tail twisted out from the boiling chakra, followed by a third. His flesh erupted into a bubbling mass, bloodlust seething from every single pore. "I… will… never forgive you!" He emitted an otherworldly shriek that pierced the sky and shook the very earth. "You knew he was unstable," Naruto rumbled lowly as his voice began losing its human quality. He grabbed a tree and ripped it, roots and all, from the ground. He hurled it forward in a fit of panting rage and dropped to all fours, seeking his prey. "You knew he'd try something like this if you told him it was okay!"

_Have to make this fast!_ Neji performed a quick set of hand seals and appeared behind Naruto. He jabbed two fingers against Naruto's shoulder, and then his neck. The fiery aura wavered faded. "Your Kyuubi chakra may be powerful, but I can still disrupt its flow if I strike your chakra points." He gave a final prod to his elbow before loosening his grip.

Naruto collapsed to the mud in a heap, his simmering flesh pink and shiny. "Why did you tell him to do it? Why?!" he sobbed inconsolably.

He crouched near him, catching his breath from the unprompted irruption. "I didn't tell him to do anything… I simply said his choice was his own."

"That's the same thing!"

"No, it's not," he retorted. "Killing his brother had been Sasuke's goal for years. It was his life breath – nothing else had meaning to him." He settled himself on his knees, dirtying his linen hakama. "If I hadn't said anything he would've waited until someone else encouraged him. He was absolutely dead-set on it, but he just needed the nudge."

Naruto remained on the ground, savoring the cool mud on his cheek. He didn't want to admit Neji was right, yet he'd never find closure otherwise. "I know. I tried rescuing his soul too many times." He turned his face down, and his eyes disappeared beneath his sodden hair. "You're right. Nothing could save him. Not even… not even his friends' pleas."

He proffered his hand to help him to his feet.

"Does that mean I failed?"

Neji opened his mouth to answer, when Tsunade broke into the clearing. "What was that racket?"

"It was nothing, Lady Tsunade. I lost my balance and fell, and Naruto came back to see if I was all right," Neji smoothly fabricated as he brushed dirt off his knees. "Isn't that correct, Naruto?"

He kept his head down and flatly answered, "Yeah."

She noticed Naruto's skin in the process of healing. She then gazed upwards towards glow of dusk diminished into resonant, indigo rain clouds. "We need to hurry back. Otherwise we'll have to spend the night in the woods."

"Right," Neji complied, and he disappeared into the treetops alongside her.

Naruto, however, did not join them. The comforting memories Konoha held for him would account for nothing now. Everything he saw would somehow associate with Sasuke, whether it was the roads they had walked along, the storefronts they had passed… even his own bedroom, where every night before sleep he'd aspire to surpass Sasuke's abilities the following day. And yet, the forest was no more promising, with the odor of the katon smoke wafting under his nostrils… an ostensible taunt of his mistakes.

A tear fell on the soaked ground. He forced himself to leap to the boughs and follow his comrades back to the village that awaited their safe return… and news.

.

* * *

.

Rain poured on Sakura's back as she sat outside the Hokage Residence building, waiting for Sasuke's arrival. Every time she caught movement in her peripheral vision she anxiously looked as to who it was, consistently dispirited with the results. She sighed softly and watched people frequenting various businesses lining the wet, shimmering road. "How can they think of eating?" she groaned, hugging her gurgling stomach. It was arduous for her to grasp how these patrons could be so relaxed on such a strenuous night.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw forms leaping over the perimeter fence some twenty meters away. Something seemed familiar about the group – it had to be Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji. She peered over with hope… but faltered at what she saw.

Six ANBU Tracker ninja carried two large objects slung in white tarps. She couldn't hear their conversing through the hammering rain; she noted, though, that they pointed to a lone building and stole into its shadows. Her mind was blank as she stared at the pale sheets. Why though? ANBU's missions were usually shrouded in secrecy – anything could have been in the tarps, ranging from confiscated goods to captured rivals. However, she couldn't shake a morbid possibility. _Maybe they're enemies they killed_. Her attention then deviated to three figures entering over the fence. She quickly scanned each face for Sasuke…

… yet, he wasn't in the group – it was Naruto and Neji, the third person being Tsunade. Had she discovered Naruto and Neji's plot and fetched them?

Abandoning the bench, she ran up to them. "Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto stared at her as though she frightened him. "Sakura…" he regretfully whispered, squeezing his tear-logged eyes.

Her expression faded as she processed his pained reply. She goggled at the others, her heart swelling with fear. "Where's Sasuke?" she repeated, he forceful voice aquiver.

"Forgive me," he hissed, water dripping off his hair.

She stepped back, horrified. "No," she whispered. She glanced at the dark building the Black Ops had entered moments preceding, recalling the two, sheeted objects they had transported; how something seemed familiar about the entourage… as though one of them was Sasuke. "No, not Sasuke… not him!"

Neji and Tsunade lowered their heads. "It's true, Sakura," the Hokage clarified. "When we found him and his brother they were already dead."

Sakura just stared, wide-eyed… unmoving. Tears pooled in her eyes and dripped off her chin. Then, her face wrested and she melted into a bawling heap, tearing at her hair and screaming.

Tsunade wrapped her arms around her. "It's all right. Shhh… it's all right," she cried, rocking her consolingly despite her own tears.

But it was as though she didn't even notice Tsunade's presence. She sobbed hysterically, shaking from head to toe.

Neji stroked her forehead. "Calm down, Sakura." He eyed the Sannin. "Perhaps you should administer a sedative?"

"Yes, yes, that's in order," she agreed, gently easing her up off the ground.

"Hey! Aren't you going to at least say something to the poor girl?" he scowled at Naruto, whom had kept his distance during the pandemonium.

His lip trembled, and he finally replied, "No. I can't even keep a promise." He turned and fled into the drenched night, Sakura's screams piercing the churning sky.

.

* * *

.

Again, I've read the manga and know why Itachi wiped out the clan; the reason in this story was my conjecture back in 2007 before the real reason had been revealed.

The song Sasuke and Itachi sang is Sanpo.


	9. Ends and Beginnings

.

"Osenko": incense sticks

.

* * *

_Ends and Beginnings_

* * *

_._

Naruto lay in his bed, watching a spider spin a glistening web against his bedroom window. It was dark outside, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. He glanced at his clock: 3:00 am. One week had lapsed since his and Neji's gruesome discovery of the dead Uchiha brothers, and the funeral was scheduled for that afternoon. Naruto had scarcely gotten any sleep following that day, for each time he drifted into a dream, the feel of Sasuke's cold skin lurched into his thoughts. He prayed that the funeral would give him the sense of closing he so desperately sought.

He solemnly got dressed in his ceremonial clothes in spite of the early hour, slipped on his shoes, and quietly exited his dorm.

.

* * *

.

For a long while he walked, relying on his instincts to steer him to a destination of any kind. The glow of the slender crescent moon cast misty shadows over the ground, bathing the area in ghostly bleakness. He paused by the area where the interment was to take place, noting the deathly silence hanging in the air like still fog. The mineral aroma of rain saturated the sky, promising a storm later that morning.

The village progressively yielded to fields and forests with each of his steps. The chirps of crickets led him to wherever he was going and allowed his brain to reflect on how he had gotten to this point in his life. Why did it seem that everyone with whom he associated wind up injured or dying? Iruka-sensei, Gaara, Lee, Neji, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, the third Hokage, his parents…. Was it the Kyuubi's rage? As he'd done so many times before, he cursed his misfortune. Why had the Fourth Hokage chosen _him_ in which to seal the demon fox… to label him as an outcast and thing to be feared by the populace? Naruto had had no say in the decision fifteen years back.

There had been warning signs of Sasuke's unlikeliness of survival: on their first A-Rank mission he almost died at the hands of that boy Haku; in the Forest of Death he'd been incapacitated owning to Orochimaru's bite; at the Chuunin Competition Gaara had almost slaughtered him; and in Otafaku Town his brother had snapped his bones like twigs then mentally debilitated him with Tsukuyomi, leaving him in a coma for just about two months. His insides writhed thinking back on it all with retrospect. They had been omens, alerting Naruto to not associate with him… but he didn't heed the warnings. And now, his friend's cold body was to be cremated later because of Naruto's wanting to sustain a camaraderie that never was. "No… Sasuke knew about hardships long before I met him," he reconsidered, trying to mitigate his regrets. _Still, _he rested his hand over the seal on his naval,_ people's luck seems to run out when I'm near._

He stopped and looked up – he was at the Third Training Grounds' Hero Memorial Stone. "So, feet… this is where you've brought me, huh?" he mutedly asked, peering at the names of the fallen shinobi of Konoha. He noticed neither Sasuke nor Itachi's names engraved in the black granite, and he realized dishearteningly Itachi would never get a place on the monument. Although it happened eight years past, he was still condemned a monster for slaughtering his clan and, up until his death, a wanted criminal. If he were listed amongst the names of KIA shinobi, there'd be an uproar from the public, which brought to mind a serious question: how would he be acknowledged at the funeral? Naruto traced the names etched on the weathered block. _Grandma Tsunade will have an answer,_ he thought. He curled into a ball on the ground, not caring that he dirtied his garments by doing so. Life had somehow come to a standstill for him, and he was mortified by the possibility it would remain as such. Why had the Pervy Sage decided to peruse Ayame's bottom instead of persisting in the raucous conversation? Naruto wouldn't have detected Sasuke's voice then. If only he hadn't heard Sasuke that night at Ichiraku; if only Sasuke hadn't killed Orochimaru; if only he'd never been infected with the Cursed Seal of Heaven; if only Sasuke hadn't been placed on the same team as him. If only he hadn't seen him sitting by himself on the dock.

If only Naruto had not cared.

Perhaps Sasuke was right saying emotions equated inferiority.

He pulled Sasuke's note from his pocket, something he'd been putting off since taking it from his dead comrade's hand. He hesitated before releasing the seal; the handwriting was scrawled, nearly illegible, and a few of the words were blotted with what looked like water drop stains. The words were not harsh, but a subdued recounting of Sasuke's last week alive, from his fight with Orochimaru, his return to Konoha and his hallucination in his home, to his fight and last words with Itachi. Naruto hungrily took in the commentary, as Sasuke had willingly relayed it to Naruto specifically, privately. The final paragraph was not an account of a journey, but a supplication of his terrible behavior and actions; the last word on the page sent a pain through Naruto's heart: "Sorry."

He wiped his eyes and read the letter again, and a third time after that. These were words of the Sasuke the Uchiha had spoken about at the katsudon shop… who he was before the massacre.

He batted his bloodshot eyes in exhaustion, sensing cool drops of rain splashing against his cheek. Grief benumbed him, deadening his body and his will to thrive. Closing his lids completely, his thoughts surrendered to restless sleep, but not before wishing that the precipitation would wash away his guilt.

.

* * *

.

"Hey, wake up."

Naruto stirred a bit.

"Get up, you loser. Who sleeps on the ground, anyway?"

Naruto's blue eyes snapped open hearing the familiar voice. "Sasuke?" He looked up; Sasuke stood above him, looking unimpressed.

"What, do your legs not work?" He offered his hand to Naruto. "You're so helpless sometimes." He raised an eyebrow. "What's with the tears?"

Naruto only then became aware of the tears streaming from his eyes. "You're… you're alive."

Sasuke scoffed. "C'mon, you can't stay out here. We have to get back to the village. Remember?"

"Wait a second!" He pried his arm free. "You died. I saw your body."

Sasuke regarded him with that cold Uchiha gaze. "Stop babbling, Usuratonkatchi. Do I look dead to you?"

Naruto replayed the question in his mind, and a thin smile crinkled his lips, and he laughed. "I guess not." He rested his hands behind his head. "What a stupid dream I had, huh?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes and started walking away. "Whatever." He looked up. "C'mon, it's about to rain."

"Sasuke!"

"What now?"

He walked up to him. "I wanna apologize."

"For?"

He shuffled his feet. "All these years, I was always competing with you. You had a real reason; I was just trying to feed my pride."

Sasuke shrugged. "That was a reason, I suppose."

"No, you were avenging your family. You had nothing else. I was just proving to others that I could amount to something more." His voice lowered. "I had dreams… aspirations. I knew I could go forward. You…"

"Couldn't?" Sasuke finished the thought. "Yeah, I know. And you were right – my life was a dead end." He placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Still, your reason for getting stronger was better than mine." He smiled and looked skyward as the rain started lightly falling. "Let's go." He started to leave.

"Sasuke!"

"What idiot?!"

"Did… do you hate me?"

Sasuke looked at him in a quiet moment before shaking his head. "No. I don't hate you. And I never did."

A tear rolled down Naruto's cheek from the pure, beautiful clarification. "Thank you, Sasuke," he whispered inaudibly, and ran to catch up, feeling the weight of the world drift from his shoulders like a zephyr from a grassy cliff.

.

* * *

.

A pelting rainstorm bombarding his face woke him. Half dazed, he looked around for Sasuke, but as the fog of disorientation lifted from his mind, he knew reality. He couldn't see the sun's position behind the steel-grey overcast. He ran back to the village, his gasping blocking out the ruckus of the storm.

When he arrived back at the designated service area he saw helpers covering a memorial table. "What time is it?!"

"A little after 8:00 am," one answered while he placed a rock on the cloth to pin it down against the howling wind.

The sour churning in Naruto's gut vanished and he sighed in bittersweet relief. He was keenly perceptive of the table's presence, but did not want to look at it and remind himself of its purpose. He plodded back to his dorm to wash his muddy clothing, as well as wait until the dreaded time…

… the testament of his inefficiency.

.

* * *

.

As 2:00 pm loomed, he headed out in his damp outfit. Handfuls of shinobi and high-ranking officials percolated into the area. Naruto recognized some of the nobles as ones who had traveled to Konoha to see Sasuke contend in the Chuunin Competition years prior.

He somberly took a seat in the first row, closest to the reliquary. The rain had slowed to a frigid drizzle, and the table had been uncovered. He walked up to it and observed the contents. Vases of white chrysanthemums flanked framed photographs of Sasuke and Itachi, while slender osenko wafted aromatically from small incense holders. He gazed at Sasuke's picture: it was an old photograph taken back when he was a genin, his headband displayed on his forehead. He didn't question the reason for the erstwhile picture; no recent photographs of Sasuke existed. He smiled morosely at the serious face that scowled back; the image was a poignant time machine of nostalgia for Naruto, but one which only permitted view of a cold, unmoving portion from a bygone time. Itachi's picture, too, was dated. He wore not the Akatsuki uniform but regular clothing, and he looked young… it was probably taken months before the massacre. The primary idiosyncrasy that jumped out at Naruto was Itachi's smile; of the few times he confronted the elder Uchiha he never once saw a smile on his face – to see it now in the captured image testified that he had once been happy. As he studied Itachi's photo, something odd caught his attention: the indicated name was 'Uchiha Tsuku'.

He turned around, wanting verification to what this meant. At that moment, Tsunade, sitting in the first row next to Shizune and Ton Ton, caught his eye and flagged him over. "Hey… how are you?" she asked in a fragile tone.

He murmured an indistinct reply, fighting down the frigid queasiness roiling in him. "What's going on? Why is his name 'Tsuku'?"

Making certain no one was in earshot, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's for security measures. If the village finds out his true name there'll be a riot. What's more, if Akatsuki discovers we have his body they might demand it back." She straightened and stared pass the photographs. "Both those reasons are why we gave him the pseudonym – we're saying he's a cousin from another village."

Indeed, Naruto only then noticed the tight security in the form of a slew of clandestine ANBU Black Ops strategically spread throughout the crowd. When he reflected on it, despite hiding behind the pretense of a bogus name, the village was taking an enormous gamble by holding a funeral for Itachi; even Sasuke had a disreputable reputation what with fleeing to Orochimaru. Naruto didn't like the fact that they disguised Itachi's identity, but it was logical. All the same, it was degrading that his name had to be censored during his final farewell.

A select few had knowledge of this farce. A row behind, he heard a regional lord speaking with his wife, mentioning "Itachi" and "Akatsuki". As soon as a group walked past, the couple stopped their discussion.

Naruto stared straight ahead at the base of the Hokage face cliff. The mumbles of the swelling crowd filtered through his ears but made no sense in his brain. None of them - not Kakashi nor Tsunade, not even the grieving Sakura - could grasp the whole enormity of what had been lost when Sasuke left the world.

Gradually, people he recognized arrived: Sakura, Kakashi, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Kiba and Akamaru, Lee, Ten Ten, Hinata, Shino, Iruka-sensei, Gai, Kuranai, Jiraiya, Konohamaru, Genma, Anko, Ibiki, Kotetsu, Izumo, Raido… they were all there, with expressions ranging from stoicism to tearful shock.

Sakura silently took a seat to Naruto's immediate left. She was composed, yet so frightfully chalk-white she might have been a china figure.

Tsunade leaned past Naruto and asked, "Is that herbal mixture I made helping you sleep, Sakura?"

"Yes. Thank you," she softly replied.

They didn't speak another word for forty minutes. Naruto cyclically slipped in and out of shock, watching everything pass by him in a measured state. He believed the only thing that kept him going was autonomic willpower. Nothing felt right, as if he was wearing somebody else's skin. The funeral must have been in error, Naruto thought, for Sasuke couldn't have died. Maybe it was all a joke concocted by him merely to shake up Naruto, and at the final minute he'd poke his head around a corner and announce the stunt's deceit. Naruto deluded himself with this leeway, and with a sliver of hopefulness watched for any signs of the Uchiha's arrival.

Finally, as 4:00 pm advanced, Tsunade rose and went over to the podium erected near the memorial table. In an unspoken cue, everyone rose from his or her seats. She saw a multitude of hundreds sweeping the area, a single, breathing organism recognizing the death of two. Respiring, she spoke. "Fellow shinobi and non-shinobi alike, today we acknowledge a deep and sad lost for the five Great Nations." She nodded to someone far in the back of the crowd and said, "Bring them now."

The acid in Naruto's stomach lurched upwards – he knew the meaning of her order. Craning his head to where Tsunade had nodded, he saw pallbearers guiding a pair of funerary biers.

"We honor the memory of Uchiha Sasuke and his cousin, Uchiha Tsuku."

He watched in horror as they neared, feeling lightheaded.

"Both men were superb ninja – we will know their absence."

He was dizzy with fear and had to grab his chair for support. He heard the pallbearers' footsteps clearly.

"As you may be aware, Sasuke survived the infamous Uchiha massacre some eight years ago. His hardships allowed him to bud into an elite fighter."

He focused intently on the carved phoenixes on the biers' tops, not wanting to view the bodies.

"Tsuku excelled in genjutsu and katon jutsu in Kumogakure, unbeknownst to many…."

He saw Sasuke's profile in his peripheral.

"Their premature deaths are tragic…"

_Just look!_ he willed himself.

"… and unfair."

He looked… and nothing terrible happened. There were Sasuke and Itachi, dressed in snowflake-white kimono, right panel overlapping the left, with a kunai on each chest. Surrounding the brothers was a bed of soft chrysanthemums, and their obi displayed the Uchiha family crest, while new Konoha bands graced their foreheads; their personal, damage forehead protectors lay by their sides, Itachi's face-down so no one could see the scratched Konoha insignia. Their faces and hands were washed and their hair lovingly combed. Other than the faint shadowing on their temples, cheeks and under the eyes, nothing seemed out of the ordinary; they looked so serene.

He turned his attention back to Tsunade when he heard her cracking voice. "The ancient and once-proud Uchiha family no longer exists with their passing." She paused and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Never again will we see a katon jutsu performed by its true inheritor. Never again will a Sharingan heir walk amongst us. Their deaths took with them a legacy that spanned hundreds of years."

The pallbearers carefully lowered the biers onto the wooden pyre. Sakura buried her face into Naruto's shoulder. He, however, barely paid notice, as he absorbedly watched for any indication of movement from Sasuke. _C'mon… wake up, Sasuke,_ his brain pleaded. _This has gone on long enough._

"For a brief moment last week, Sasuke returned to Konoha after a two-and-a-half year absence interval. And, like today, it was raining. As he reappeared with the rain, so shall he and Tsuku leave with the rain."

An assistant lit a torch and touched it to the oil-saturated woodpile; it ignited at once, roaring with blasting heat. Naruto quashed the inclination to scream for them to stop, trying to regain his rationality.

"Since fire was the element of the Uchiha clan, cremation is ironically fitting for them." She barely finished when she started crying, her shaking arms supporting her. "May their memories burn forever in our hearts. And may their spirits find peace after a lifetime of turmoil." She covered her mouth and returned to her seat, stifling her tears.

Naruto watched the flames consume the biers, finally taking Itachi and Sasuke. The smoke coiled upward like a thick, black worm, mingling with the swirling overcast. He felt the heat bathing his skin as he witnessed the storming inferno, and the camphor smoke stung his eyes. The framework of the biers collapsed in the flames, casting embers into the sky. Soon after, the once-markedly separate blazes raged as one, massive bonfire.

Steadily, people lined up in a procession to pay their respects. In single file, they placed a flower by each Uchiha's photograph. Although Naruto was in the front row, he opted to wait before he had to say his goodbyes.

The line was immense; Naruto hadn't realized Sasuke was that adulated. He heard people mourning, their cries drifting with the billowing smoke like a bizarre lullaby.

Sakura weakly stood and walked to the end of the cavalcade, as did members from the other squads. Nobody spoke in the queue; no waves of greeting were passed – the mood was far too oppressive. No one ever imagined this day would come… that the insuperable Uchiha Sasuke would succumb to death, heralding the extinction of the clan. But it wasn't just the issue of his passing that weighed heavily in the air like a pulsating virus. Uneasy rumors concerning speculations as to how he died circulated: had he been assassinated by one of Orochimaru's men? Did he take his own life? Since the corpse was free of any substantial trauma, suspicions arose and convoluted tightly with passage through each set of lips.

The fire smoldered evenly and the crackling of the wood filled the area. Naruto shielded his face in his quivering palm to hide his tears. This wasn't supposed to have happened – Sasuke was to live, existing in the shadow of Naruto after he - Konoha's number one hyper-active, knucklehead ninja – had consummated his ambition of becoming Hokage. He had repetitively visualized swaggering before the Uchiha, rubbing it in his face by gloating about his accomplishment. Now, the only way he would get to see Sasuke was if he visited his grave. He felt like he was attending his own funeral… engulfed in an inferno with no one hearing his shrieks of incurable torment. And in reality, nobody could fathom the actual depths of his pain.

With time, people filed out of the service. Even while the crowd thinned, the pyre incessantly burned – it would be hours until the fires died and the cremation was complete. People exchanged solemn farewells with one another before parting ways, returning to their normal lives and schedules.

Sakura at long last reached the table alongside Kakashi. She smiled tightly as she regarded Sasuke's photograph, warm tears rolling down her cheeks. "I did love you, Sasuke… I guess this was more important to you, though." She gently stacked the blossom with the others. Assuming Itachi was to blame for it all, she failed to acknowledge his photo with neither a glance nor a flower and regained her seat by Naruto, resting her head on his shoulder. In happier times, this would've thrilled him; now, he was sickened, knowledgeable that her sorrow was his doing. Again, he apologized soundlessly… to her, to everybody, to Sasuke. _I couldn't save you… I wasn't strong enough,_ he atoned repetitively within the deepest crevices of his mind to Sasuke. He could see his face emblazoned heavily in his remembrance, fluctuating from his melancholic expression so prevalent from his childhood, his supercilious smirks during their years as Team 7, his wild-eyed wrath as he plunged his arm through Naruto's chest in the Valley of the End, and his impassive mask of less than two weeks previous.

Other images pressed into his consciousness, too:

their shared satisfaction of completing climbing trees without their hands;

the rare occasions when the laughed together;

Sasuke's begrudged praise of Naruto's progression.

Naruto felt a tickle of joy rise from his innards, but it didn't develop into anything more. These recollections, both good and bad, were now the only traces of Sasuke's existence available to Naruto, and he desired nothing more than to embrace them to ensure they'd always remain with him.

Kakashi placed a bloom by each image and folded his hands before him. "Sasuke, you were… a superb student, certain to make any teacher proud. I'm honored I can tell people that I was once your mentor." He turned his attention to Itachi's picture, the firelight reflecting in his staid eyes. "Itachi, you were a wonderful ANBU captain, comrade… and friend." He inhaled abrasively and dipped his head in anguish. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to neutralize your Cursed Mark. Maybe if I had, none of this would have happened." He smiled tenderly at the images. "I'll miss you both. Sleep well." He touched his hands together in prayer then left, tugging his vest against his neck tightly to ward off the chill constricting the air.

As the numbers dwindled, the remaining attendees congregated into small groups by taking seats next to people sitting near them. There were still unhealed wounds that needed closure, and talking was the best way to expedite the curative process. Shikamaru forewent leaving with Ino and Chouji and instead meandered over to Naruto. "It's troublesome, isn't it? Having someone you care about die," he remarked stolidly, lowering himself into an empty chair. He tapped a cigarette out of a carton, taking it in his teeth. He lit it, snuffing the match in a puddle. "I was a mess when Asuma died. That's why I started smoking – sort of my personal tribute to him." He grinned, though it radiated unambiguous pain.

Naruto watched the crackling fire, absorbing the chuunin's words. He distractedly twirled his pair of offering flowers back and forth between his thumb and fingers, bruising the stems.

"I didn't know much about Sasuke, other than he was a top-ranked shinobi of the Uchiha clan and he trained with Orochimaru. I hardly knew him personally." He exhaled the acrid smoke. "I can't imagine what you're going through, having been on the same team as him."

Naruto's brow wrinkled. "I barely knew him, either."

"Huh?"

"He never… he never opened up to Sakura, Kakashi, or me. He always wanted to be left alone or practice on his own," he muttered, staring at the water near Shikamaru's feet.

Shikamaru scrutinized him before nodding perceptively. "So… he was a mystery to everyone, then."

Neji walked up to the altar and prayed in silence. After, he spied Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura and walked over. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Have at it," Shikamaru answered, indicating an empty chair next to him.

Neji lowered himself collectedly, clasping his hands. "Again, we fell short in our mission to rescue Sasuke," he huffed, recalling how years back he, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba had failed to retrieve him from Orochimaru's Sound Four team.

"Well, we couldn't be expected to go after him whenever he had inkling to leave," Shikamaru sighed, wiping the drizzle off his face.

"It's all my fault," Naruto muttered, his voice blending with the fire's snapping.

The two stared at him. "What do you mean?" Neji queried.

The painful memories rushed like a flood that had breached a blockade, each crystal clear and accusatory. "When I was younger, I would see him, crying and alone. I knew about his village and figured he needed a friend, but I… I never spoke to him." He squeezed his hand shut with regret. "I was jealous. I let my stupid jealously win and I shunned him." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, his shame flaring. "Maybe if I'd befriended him back then, he would've known someone cared for him, and focus his attention on that instead of festering in a pool of revenge."

"Perhaps… perhaps not," Neji reflected. "You can't dwell on past choices. Life only moves in one direction, and that's forward. Hopefully, one can walk away from a situation having learned something." He turned his gaze to the combustion, the firelight dancing in his pale eyes. "Who knows? Possibly we'll all learn something from this chapter in our lives."

"And what did I learn?!" he screamed. "That I can't even save my friend?!"

Sakura pushed her tear-dampened hair off her face. "He's right, Naruto. You can't wonder what could've happened. Anyway," she smiled bleakly, "Sasuke was a lost cause, even back then."

He shook his head. "Don't make excuses for me, Sakura."

She laughed softly. "Every girl vied for his attention. We'd talk to him, offer him gifts, invite him to play with us, and show him kindness. But he… he never reciprocated the camaraderie." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Even if you had tried to be his friend back then, he probably would have brushed you off, too."

"We were just collective pawns in his game of chess, while Itachi was the king, his ultimate goal," Tsunade suddenly interjected.

The four shinobi evaluated the Hokage's observation and tacitly concurred. They could not allow this to hinder them – though Sasuke had been a fellow ninja, he'd also been no more than a crease in the cloth of their existence.

For Naruto, though, the Uchiha's impact would forever be felt, whether he wanted it to or not. He had pushed him, forced him to excel, helped him to see inside himself, then even deeper. He gazed into the flames, trying to assimilate Tsunade's words, when he felt a hand close on his shoulder. He looked up and saw it was that of Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure. Flanking him were his siblings, Temari and Kankuro.

"Gaara," Naruto said in surprise, not having anticipated their arrival.

Gaara did not make eye contact but gazed at the flames. "He was a strong shinobi. Do not let his death be in vain, Uzumaki Naruto."

He clenched his fists. "What am I supposed to do?"

His pale eyes met the blonde's. "Do not wallow in the past, like he did. Pick yourself up and move forward." He turned and walked away with his siblings. "Do what Sasuke could not."

Naruto watched their backs minimize with distance. Gaara, too, had been hindered by his own discordant past, letting it dictate his life; only after his fight with Naruto did he reassess his behavior and purpose, and with resolve emerged from that lonely hole and became Kazekage.

Bolstering himself with brittle strength, he rose from his chair, followed by Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji, and Tsunade. "C'mon, guys. Let's move forward and never look back. That's where the future is."

The others nodded in agreement. One by one, they placed their hands on Naruto's shoulder, and they left their past behind by exiting the service, vowing to somehow endure. As they departed, Naruto stopped before the table and deposited the two flowers, smiling at the pair of images, before turning to Tsunade. He had something imperative to ask her.

.

* * *

.

Kisame watched the crimson sunset settle over both sky and land like gossamer. He knew an approaching storm was responsible for the glorious display – perhaps the disturbance was south in Hi no Kuni.

He sat on the sandstone precipice with Itachi's note clutched firmly in his grasp. It had been over a week since Itachi set out, and the only communication received was the note, which at first was a small account of his journey to Konoha and his time in the teahouse, but then started going in Itachi's past regrets. Madara had not seen the letter and was furious about the younger's absence, as Itachi and Kisame had yet still to acquire the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

Kisame, however, knew better. Itachi normally notified the other members as to where he traveled, seeing that he was meticulous when it came to following procedure, no doubt due to his regimented ANBU training. On top of that, he hadn't asked Kisame to accompany him on whatever task he intended to fulfill. They had always stuck together, their bonds strengthening when he saved him from Orochimaru's lecherous grasp. For Itachi to abandon the swordsman like that… it could only mean he had had one goal consuming his mind that afternoon ten days earlier.

And now that he had not returned, Kisame knew, indubitably, he'd found it.

During the week of Itachi's abandonment, Kisame learned that the rumors pertaining to Sasuke murdering Orochimaru were accurate, and chances were Itachi speculated it long before the news was verifiable. Hindsight wise, it was quite transparent now whom Itachi had hoped to find that day… who he had hoped would deliver the killing blow that would end his dejected life.

Moreover, there was the most damning piece of evidence: word that Sasuke and his cousin Tsuku were found dead in Hi no Kuni's vast forest. Kisame might have believed it had it not been marred with inconsistencies… Itachi didn't have a cousin by that name. Furthermore, he had killed all of his family members with the exception of his little brother, for the Uchiha only lived in Konoha, nowhere else.

He watched the sun dip behind the mountains, and the air was plunged into instant coolness. "As long as you're happy, Itachi, I'm happy," he smiled somberly, watching birds soaring through the sky. He was a product of the notorious Blood Mist village and had long learned to barricade his emotions. And yet, knowing he and Itachi would never walk side by side again, something excruciating tugged at his heart that caused his eyes to burn. He stood, grabbed Samehada and quietly walked back to the Akatsuki hideout, which, he was aware, would feel a little colder… now that his friend had at last realized his wish of eight years and was at long last where he belonged:

at peace with his brother.

.

* * *

.

I mentioned the kimono panels for a very important reason. On living persons, kimono (or similar garments) are worn with the left panel overlapping the right – it's opposite for a dressed corpse. Some Asian-inspired shirts sold in major stores nowadays have the right panel over the left; this is a morbid error and not lucky to wear.

The epilogue is next.


	10. Epilogue

_._

* * *

_Epilogue_

* * *

_._

"Sasuke and Itachi's ashes were buried in the Uchiha clan's graveyard," the elderly Hokage said. "Many people visited Sasuke's plaque to honor him bringing Orochimaru's reign of malice to an end." He puffed the pipe solemnly. "Itachi, unfortunately, did not have it so easy in death. He was acknowledged by his actual name, but nobody dare attended his grave. Visitors intending to pray for Uchiha Tsuku came across no such grave and opted to leave their offerings to Sasuke." His cloudy eyes lowered to his lap. "I wonder… I wonder if Itachi's spirit has wandered because of it."

Kiyomi sniffled and wiped her eyes. "That was a sad story, Ojii-chan."

He nodded. "Yes. And what's most upsetting about is that it was spawned by a man who wanted to live forever. He brought so much misery in his quest for immortality."

She looked over at the stone faces. "But why was Sasuke's face carved near the Hokage heads?"

"You mean, why wasn't his name just added to the hero memorial?"

She nodded.

"He was a hero for slaying Orochimaru, and one of the most promising shinobi ever to emerge from Konoha. He veritably possessed Hokage strength." He peered over at the sandstone likeness. "If he'd focused his energy on becoming Hokage instead of putting all his efforts into fighting his brother, he could have obtained the title. No Hokage had stopped Orochimaru before, and Sasuke's act was like a Hokage's feat. Tsunade knew this and allowed his face a place on the cliff in honorary recognition." He tapped the ashes out of his pipe and slipped it inside his robe. "But we mustn't be sad – tonight we'll celebrate their memory at the Obon festival. The last thing they'd want is for us to be forlorn during such a joyous occasion."

Kiyomi's frown radiated into a smile. "Yeah! You're right!"

He smiled and patted her head.

Her eyes lit with awareness and she wandered through the field, gathering a bouquet of blossoms.

The Hokage walked up to her. "Hmm… what are you doing, Grand Daughter?"

"I'm gonna leave this bouquet at Itachi's grave before we go to the Obon. Then he won't be sad because somebody remembered him!"

His lips crinkled into a smile. "That's a very kind thing to do." He stooped and started picking a bunch of flowers. "And I'll give this to Sasuke."

"Hooray!" she chimed, adding blades of grass to the arrangement. Humming, she plucked a final bud and skipped down the hill.

A warm breeze skimmed the meadow, sending gentle waves through the grass. The Hokage gazed at the image of Sasuke and smiled. "You impacted us all, even generations after your death." Tears welled in his happy eyes. "I'll never forget you, Sasuke, and thank you for listening to me and carving his face up there, Grandama Tsunade… believe it."

Kiyomi stopped and called back to him. "Hey! Grandfather Naruto!" We have to get ready for the festival and give these flowers to Sasuke and Itachi!"

"Fine, fine, I'm coming!" and he hobbled down the path to her. Dragonflies zipped through the dusky sky, accompanied by the strains of taiko drums in the distance. It was certain to be another beautiful festival.

.


End file.
